New heart valve treatments offer minimally invasive options for high-risk heart valve disease patients
UI Health Care is the first in Iowa to offer non-surgical options for patients with tricuspid valve regurgitation.
Patients with symptomatic, severe tricuspid valve regurgitation now have more options available to them at University of Iowa Health Care. Two new minimally invasive treatments offer a reduced recovery time and provide an alternative to daily medications and ongoing monitoring for patients who are often at high risk and do not qualify for surgery.
Tricuspid valve regurgitation is a heart valve disease where the valve between the two right heart chambers (right atrium and right ventricle) doesn’t close as it should, and blood flows backward through the valve. As a result, less blood flows to the lungs, leaving patients with extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, and the feeling of a pounding heartbeat. Some patients are born with the condition, and others develop it later in life due to infection or other health conditions.
Beginning in October, UI Health Care began offering transcatheter tricuspid repair treatment, where a catheter is used to deliver clips to the tricuspid valve leaflets to hold them together and reduce the blood flowing backwards. Later this year, UI Health Care will begin offering a transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement option, where the valve is replaced with an artificial one.
“While these treatments are new to the U.S., tens of thousands of patients have benefitted from these treatments in Canada and Europe, and through clinical trials” says Phillip Horwitz, MD, interventional cardiologist and executive director of UI Health Care Heart and Vascular Center.
These low-risk, minimally invasive procedures are performed by interventional cardiologists who have advanced training in these procedures and clip technology. Patients are often able to return home the same day as the procedure.
“These new tricuspid valve procedures have been proven to provide real symptom relief for patients. The fast recovery and minimally invasive nature of the procedures bring new options for patients who have few other choices,” says Horwitz. “We are excited to bring these treatments to Iowans and help improve their quality of life in a convenient, effective way.”
Patients with this condition can ask their provider for a referral to our structural heart disease program.
Learn more about tricuspid valve treatment options.
