Heart valve and artery repair: Finding the right treatment options for you

Heart valve disease affects millions of Americans every year. Left untreated, it can lead to serious complications such as heart failure, heart attack or stroke. Narrowed or bulging arteries from atherosclerosis or aneurysms can also raise an individual’s risk of cardiac events.

Fortunately, though, patients have more minimally invasive care options than ever before to treat these conditions and return to their daily lives — and we have the answers they need about heart valve repair and treatments for damaged arteries.

Learn more about the treatment options available for heart valve and artery repair and how to find the right care for you. If you have cardiovascular symptoms, don’t wait. Schedule an appointment with an HCA Florida Healthcare cardiologist.

What is heart valve disease?

Each of your heart valves ensures blood flows in the correct direction. They work by opening and closing in tight coordination.

There are four valves in your heart:

• Aortic valve
• Mitral valve
• Pulmonary valve
• Tricuspid valve

When these valves don’t close properly, blood “regurgitates,” or flows backward, leading to symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness or an irregular heartbeat. Depending on the severity, valves may need to be repaired or replaced.

Heart valve repair options

Many options for treating heart valve disease are available today, including:

• Heart valve repair to save your existing valve by removing excess tissue, patching damaged areas or making other adjustments so the valve closes properly
• Medication to help manage symptoms of heart valve disease
• Surgery to replace the whole valve with a new, artificial one

Surgeons can treat damaged valves with minimally invasive procedures, including catheter-based options that use thin wires routed through vessels in the groin and up to the heart.

“We can address all four heart valves with minimally invasive options,” says Charles Klodell, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon with HCA Florida Healthcare. “That means patients can go home the next morning with a Band-Aid on their groin, just 14 hours after their procedure — and that takes minimally invasive to a new level.”

While some aortic valve repairs and replacements still require open surgery, many patients benefit from transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a special kind of minimally invasive procedure used to treat aortic valve stenosis (a condition where the aortic valve doesn’t open properly). Minimally invasive procedures are often an improvement over previous care options because they help patients to go home early.

Artery repair options

In other cases, such as a blocked or bulging artery, you may need a stent to hold it open. And you can have peace of mind knowing that cardiologists have used stents for decades to manage built-up plaque in arteries.

However, depending on the location of the narrowing, patients may be better served by coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, stents or a combination of the two.

“We take care of the most important arteries with the most durable graft, one that will last 30-plus years,” says Dr. Klodell. “Cardiologists may recommend using stents in other areas.”

In a major improvement over existing open-heart surgeries, aortic aneurysm repairs can now be done via stent grafts, which have been transformative for patients.

“It’s almost like an inner tube inside of a bike tire,” says Dr. Klodell. “The blood is contained within the stent and takes the pressure off the aorta. We see patients surviving who wouldn’t have been able to before. Patients who experience aortic catastrophe out of the hospital have a low chance of surviving, compared to a 99% success rate of a minimally invasive, elective procedure performed before the problem becomes an emergency.”

The right procedure for you

Nationally, more than half of heart valve procedures are done with minimally invasive procedures as cardiologists have shifted to favor the least invasive treatment options. This breadth of options is important because different patients benefit from different treatments.

Your care team may recommend options based on your:

• Age
• Overall health, including other conditions that would make surgery risky
• Severity of valve disease
• The number of valves that need repair or replacement

Because every patient is unique, we offer a breadth of treatment options to address their conditions. Cardiac repairs don’t fit a cookie-cutter approach, which is why we prioritize the least invasive, most effective procedure depending on each patient’s needs.

A patient who has aortic stenosis along with another valve problem, for example, wouldn’t be able to handle surgery for multiple valves at once. But cardiologists can use minimally invasive procedures to break the treatment into smaller chunks. For instance, they can perform a minimally invasive procedure on one valve and then wait to see the impact before moving on to the next. This stepwise approach means patients recover faster compared to patients who used to be in the hospital for a week and then in cardiac rehab for several more weeks after a triple valve replacement.

Catching heart valve or arterial disease early means more time to create personalized plans that work for patients.

“We want to be proactive about these things,” says Dr. Klodell. “We might perform these procedures on an emergency basis, but that’s not ideal for patients. We want to be in front of problems and give families time to prepare.”

Having a multidisciplinary team is also crucial to offering comprehensive cardiac care, especially for patients who need multiple repairs or who have other conditions that affect treatment options.

“That’s why we approach valve and artery repair by committee at HCA Florida,” says Dr. Klodell. “When you’re picking your surgeon and your cardiologist, you want them to be skilled in both surgical and non-surgical repair options and deliver the entire spectrum of evidence-based, protocol-driven care with personalization for your condition. We have a standard playbook, but then we want it tailored based on how a patient has responded — and we can get pretty creative when we need to.”

Find personalized cardiovascular care for your needs. Call (833) 544-5031 or visit our website to schedule an appointment with an HCA Florida cardiologist today.