TAVI: Non-Surgical Heart Valve Replacement
What is Aortic Stenosis?
It is the valve between the left ventricle (left ventricle) of the heart and the main artery (aorta) that pumps blood to the body. The aortic valve may deteriorate and narrow due to rheumatic valve disease, congenital aortic valve anomaly (bicuspid valve) and aging. As aortic stenosis progresses, the left ventricle of the heart (left ventricle) is exposed to high pressure, and the amount of blood pumped to the body also decreases. Exposure of the left heart to high pressure and less blood pumping to the body does not bother the patient to some extent. When the aortic valve narrows severely, the patient's complaints begin to appear.
What are the Symptoms of Aortic Stenosis?
When the aortic valve is severely narrowed, the patient's first complaint is usually shortness of breath on exertion. The patient begins to feel short of breath when walking or climbing stairs. As the stenosis progresses over the years, the patient begins to feel chest pain in addition to shortness of breath. When aortic stenosis progresses too far, fainting occurs in the patient, at which stage the risk of sudden death is also very high.
TAVI: Non-Surgical Heart Valve Replacement
Thanks to new technologies and developed procedures in the field of Interventional Cardiology, the treatment of heart valve diseases can be done with interventional methods. Non-surgical Heart Valve Replacement can be performed with the TAVI method, which is considered revolutionary in cardiology. With this method, valve replacement is provided without opening the thorax.
The aortic valve is the valve at the mouth of the main artery leaving the heart. If you have been diagnosed with aortic stenosis, you may feel overwhelmed and it may make it difficult to seek treatment. But the sooner you take care of it, the sooner you'll be able to get back to life and everything you love.
TAVI, also called TAVR (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement), is a new treatment for aortic stenosis that can help you get back to life faster.
What happens during TAVI?
Your doctor will perform the procedure in the hospital. Depending on your health, it will determine the most suitable type of anesthesia for you. You may be fully asleep or awake, but you will be given medications to help you relieve and block the pain. Your heart will continue to beat during the procedure. This is quite different from open heart surgery, where your heart is stopped and a heart and lung blood machine will be inserted.
TAVI differs from open heart surgery because it uses an approach to treat a diseased aortic valve. Your doctor will determine the best approach to replace your heart valve, but the most common technique is performed on the catheter table as if the patient were going to have an angiogram.
Step by Step TAVI
A- Entering the heart with a catheter from the leg artery and reaching the aortic valve area
B- Expansion of the aortic valve area with a balloon
C- Placement of the biological cover
D- Latest version of TAVI application
Patients can recover from their symptoms immediately after TAVI treatment.
Who can have TAVI?
Every patient diagnosed with severe aortic valve stenosis should be evaluated for TAVI. Patients at risk for Open Heart Surgery and patients over 65 years of age are suitable candidates for TAVI.
What are the Risks of TAVI Procedure?
The risk of death and disability in this procedure is higher than other angiographic diagnoses and treatments used in cardiology. However, it should be kept in mind that the TAVI method is performed in patients who cannot undergo surgery or who have a very high risk of surgery, and the existing disease does not have a chance to be treated otherwise. The risk of death in the TAVI procedure and in the following 30 days is 1-5%. Again, the risk of minor or major stroke within 1 month after the procedure is 1-2%. Other than death and stroke, the risks are largely treatable.
