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Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive procedure to replace your existing Aortic Valve without stopping the heart. Aortic Stenosis is the most common valve problem affecting older adults. When someone has Aortic Stenosis, their valve becomes very stiff and often calcified, which narrows the opening for your blood to exit the heart to the body. Symptoms of Aortic Stenosis can limit your daily activities including shortness of breath, chest pain, decreased stamina, and dizziness.

There are times when the TAVR procedure can be used to treat Aortic Insufficiency, but this is not as common. Aortic Insufficiency is when the Aortic Valve is leaky and blood moves in the wrong direction. Not all Aortic Insufficiency is amenable to treatment with TAVR.

Transcatheter Valve Replacement is becoming more common for pts who have had a traditional Surgical Tissue Valve replacement in the past which is now failing. This is what we call a Valve in Valve procedure where the transcatheter valve seats into the existing surgical valve.

TAVR uses a catheter to thread a prosthetic valve up to the heart through a blood vessel. Once the new valve is perfectly positioned, it is opened, pushing aside the leaflets of the defective valve and effectively replacing it.

The TAVR team performs a comprehensive evaluation of each patient to determine if you would benefit from a TAVR procedure (see “Referral Process for TAVR“).

Click here for more details on the TAVR procedure.