A beautiful
heartbeat
A NEW HEART VALVE — NO INCISION
Open heart surgery isn’t for everyone. Instead, surgeons at AGH
can use a minimally invasive procedure to give patients a new
heart valve and better health.
Using transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), surgeons
go through the femoral artery in the leg or a small incision in the
chest. They insert an expandable replacement valve through a
catheter to the heart, and push the diseased valve leafl et out of
the way.
Because TAVR doesn’t require major incisions, patients experience
less pain and scarring, shorter hospital stays, faster recovery
time, and lower risk of infection.
The AGH team has extensive experience with TAVR, treating over
1,500 aortic valve stenosis patients in the last fi ve years. These
patients saw improved quality of life and long-term survival.
Dr. Thosani keeps
hearts strong
Amit Thosani, MD, a cardiac electrophysiologist, in AHN’s
Center for Atrial Fibrillation, specializes in heart rhythm
disorders. As AHN’s director of electrophysiology, his team
performs thousands of procedures for patients with atrial
fi brillation, ventricular tachycardia, and other arrhythmias.
“People need to be aware that chest pain, shortness of breath,
and dizziness can be signs of irregular heartbeat,” he said.
“Even if the symptoms go away, we want to address the
underlying problem.”
“Today we can produce better results with less invasive
surgical techniques,” Dr. Thosani said. “This lets us do the best
for our patients. For instance, zero fl uoroscopy ablation is an
approach that decreases radiation — a plus for patients and
our medical staff .”
AMIT THOSANI, MD, CARDIAC
ELECTROPHYSIOLOGIST