Forrest General honors first patients to receive transcatheter aortic valve replacement
HATTIESBURG, Miss - This is a press release from Forrest General Hospital
Forrest General honored the first group of patients to receive the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with the Edwards SAPIEN transcatheter heart valve at the facility. The patients gathered with their family and friends at the hospital for a luncheon and awards ceremony.
“This procedure has vastly improved the lives of patients who would not have been able to enjoy the quality of life they have now without it. We are pleased to honor these patients and celebrate their lives and their families,” said Craig Chancellor, ACNP, TAVR coordinator.
The Edwards SAPIEN valve via transfemoral delivery was initially approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2011 as a therapy for inoperable patients with severe, symptomatic calcified native aortic valve stenosis and in whom existing co-morbidities would not preclude the expected benefit from correction of the aortic stenosis.
In October 2012, the FDA approved an expanded indication for the Edwards SAPIEN valve to enable the treatment of patients with severe, symptomatic native aortic value stenosis who have been determined by a heart team that includes an experienced cardiac surgeon and cardiologist to be high-risk for open-chest surgery. In addition to expanding the use of the Edwards SAPIEN valve via transfemoral delivery to high-risk patients, the FDA also approved a new transapical delivery method.
Current American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Valvular Heart Disease indicates surgical AVR for virtually all patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis. Without replacement of the aortic valve, this disease is life-threatening and previous studies have shown that 50 percent of patients will not survive more than an average of two years after the onset of symptoms.
The balloon-expandable Edwards SAPIEN valve is delivered via a catheter-based approach without a median sternotomy or the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. It is the only TAVR therapy approved for commercial use in the country and Forrest General is one of a select number of sites currently offering this treatment.
For more information about severe aortic stenosis, TAVR or other heart and vascular services visit forrestgeneral.com.
