Heart & Vascular

Optimal Care for Heart Valve Disease

Until recently, people with severe aortic stenosis or mitral valve disease — conditions that affect the valves in the heart — had a single option for treatment: open-heart surgery.

At the St. Elizabeth Heart & Vascular Institute, we offer more treatment options, including minimally invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and minimally invasive mitral valve repair and replacement.

A Team Approach for Heart Valve Treatment

The Structural Heart and Valve Center brings the expertise of cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, interventional radiologists (imaging specialists) and anesthesiologists to plan the best treatment for your condition.Surgeons and cardiologists review the results of your diagnostic exams to determine which therapies offer you the best results.

In addition, your team may include a:

• Nurse navigator – Your nurse navigator helps coordinate your care and assist you as you go through treatment and recovery — everything from scheduling appointments to educating you about your condition.
• Nurse practitioner – You’ll see your nurse practitioner, along with other team members, at your Structural Heart and Valve Center appointments. Your nurse practitioner is there to answer questions and offer advice for a healthy recovery.

We work together to make sure you get the very best care.

New Options to Treat Heart Valve Disease

When your heart valves don't open or close properly, this affects the way blood flows through your heart and other organs. Left untreated, heart valve disease can lead to serious conditions such as heart failure, stroke, blood clots or sudden cardiac arrest — a malfunction in the heart’s electrical system that causes it to stop working.

The heart has four valves that regulate the flow of blood from one heart chamber to another and then out to the body. The aortic valve, which regulates blood flow from the left ventricle (lower heart chamber) into the aorta and out to the body is the heart valve most commonly replaced. The mitral valve, which controls blood flow from the left atrium (upper heart chamber), is the most commonly repaired valve. The tricuspid and pulmonary valves rarely need repair or replacement.

In the past, open heart surgery – cutting open the sternum (breastbone) to access the heart – was the only way to perform valve surgery. Although open heart surgery is still performed in some cases, there are now minimally invasive options that can offer excellent results.

As a heart and vascular care leader in Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati, we’re able to offer you some of the latest treatments.

Advanced Treatments for Heart Valve Disease

The St. Elizabeth Heart & Vascular Institute Structural Heart and Valve Center provides expert treatment for valve disease. At the Structural Heart and Valve Center, cardiologists and surgeons work together to determine the best treatment — whether it’s open heart surgery or a minimally invasive procedure.

We offer minimally invasive procedures such as:

• Minimally invasive mitral valve repair or replacement - With just a one-and-a-half-inch incision on the right side of the chest, our mitral valve experts can enter the heart and repair or replace a mitral valve that isn’t working properly.
• Mitra-Clip™ - For patients who are not candidates for surgery, this device clamps together the two leaflets of the mitral valve to reduce leakage.
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) - A cardiac catheterization procedure that treats severe aortic stenosis. For those who qualify, TAVR offers a treatment for people who can’t have open surgery, or for whom surgery presents moderate risk.
• Valvuloplasty - Improves blood flow in the heart by opening the aortic, mitral or pulmonary valves with a tiny balloon (similar to angioplasty).

If your condition can’t be treated with a minimally invasive procedure, our surgeons can perform open-heart surgery to repair or replace aortic and mitral valves. Our specialists will discuss which treatments can offer you the best results. We’ll design a treatment plan that meets your needs.