How can TAVR help heart patients?
Heart patients who need an aortic valve replacement but are considered high risk for open-heart surgery can now be treated with a minimally invasive procedure known as transcatheter aortic valve replacement, also called TAVR. Having participated in the early clinical trials of the TAVR procedure, the experts at Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital helped improve the technology now used around the country.
TAVR is less invasive than open-heart surgery and involves making a small incision in the upper leg through the femoral artery where heart surgeons use advanced imaging technology to guide thin tubes (catheters) up toward the aortic valve. They then use the catheters to replace the valve with a new one.
Our team of heart surgeons on the medical staff who specialize in TAVR, including interventional cardiologists, imaging specialists, heart surgeons and cardiac anesthesiologists, work together as a team to replace diseased valves and restore the heart’s ability to more efficiently control the flow of blood.