Munroe Regional Medical Center: Performing the ONLY Advanced Procedure in the Area for Heart Valve Patients

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Severe Aortic Stenosis affects many aging individuals and causes the blood to inefficiently flow throughout the body because the heart becomes unable to pump and push blood through the aortic valve effectively.  Your physician will perform diagnostic tests on you, such as an angiogram or echocardiogram to determine if you have Aortic Stenosis.
The Symptoms of Aortic Stenosis
• Lack of energy
• Shortness of Breath
• Lethargy
• Swelling of legs and feet
• Dizziness and fainting
For many years, Europe has performed a procedure that successfully replaces the damaged valve with a new valve, essentially placing “a valve within a valve.”  The good news is that this procedure is now FDA approved and available here in the United States.  The TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement) system is a minimally invasive procedure, and for countless patients, it’s a critical alternative to open-heart surgery.
Who is a Candidate for the TAVR Procedure?
• People with Severe Aortic Stenosis
• Individuals with weak heart muscles
• Patients that have previously undergone open-heart surgery
• Those suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Individuals needing their old replacement valves changed out
The Benefits of this Advanced Procedure
With traditional open-heart surgery, the sternum must be completely fractured, and the amount of healing time needed to regenerate the bone is extensive and quite uncomfortable for patients.  Large incisions through deep layers of muscle are also painful and take much longer to heal than with minimally invasive procedures.
With the TAVR method, patients healing time is considerably shortened, and they will not experience the painful side effects of standard surgery. Patients will also be able to breathe better, have more energy and begin to live a higher quality of life much sooner than those that undergo open-heart surgery.
The TAVR Procedure Explained
A catheter is placed either through a tiny incision in the femoral artery (transfemoral) or through a small incision in the chest (trans-apical), which guides a new valve that is inserted within the old valve and pushes away the damaged tissues, creating a strong wall for the blood to pass through.
Munroe Regional Medical Center (MRMC)
Munroe Regional Medical Center is the first and only hospital currently offering the TAVR procedure in Marion County.   Since the inception of the TAVR program at MRMC, they have performed over 200 Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement procedures.  Over the past several years, there have been numerous studies showing that surgeons performing a high-volume of cases are exceedingly more comfortable and proficient; MRMC offers their patients the highest-quality of expertise.
At MRMC’s new Structural Heart Clinic, they offer the most advanced procedures for their patients.  Munroe Regional Medical Center’s cardiologists are experts in invasive diagnostic testing and interventional procedures. If you or someone you know has a cardiac-related healthcare episode, a chronic heart condition such as aortic stenosis, heart failure, or have an elevated risk for heart-related health issues, Munroe Heart has the expertise and the technology to bring you superior cardiac healthcare.
Munroe Regional Medical Center provides cardiac care through a team of experienced cardiovascular, thoracic cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, cardiac anesthesiologists, and cardiac rehab specialists. With decades of experience in treating heart conditions, MRMC has led the hospital to become a cardiac education center for numerous hospitals throughout the state of Florida.
Munroe Heart is designed to be a heart hospital within a larger, complete medical center and features:
• Structural Heart Program
• 4 cardiothoracic operating rooms
• A 14-bed cardiovascular intensive care unit
• Electrophysiology lab for complex heart rhythm disturbances or complex pacemakers
• 4 catheterization labs for heart disease treatment.
• Chemistry lab robot that can process 100 labs per hour for fast testing turnaround
• Cardiac rehabilitation in six convenient locations
If you suspect you have a heart disorder, be sure to ask your primary care doctor to do a preliminary evaluation, and to refer you to a cardiologist. If you need assistance scheduling with a physician, please call Munroe Regional Medical Center at 1-800-575-3975, or visit their website at MunroeRegional.com.