Exceptional Cardiac Care
When it comes to your heart, you deserve the best. With its multidisciplinary team of talented cardiologists, heart surgeons, specialists and dedicated coordinator, the Heart Valve Center at Saint Francis Medical Center offers the most advanced treatments for heart valve disease.
Coordinated Care for Better Outcomes
The Heart Valve Center team ensures that all questions are answered, and that the right specialists are gathered for a patient’s initial medical evaluation. After each case assessment, a personalized patient care plan is created, with ongoing communication to referring physicians to keep them informed. Additionally, new technologies and procedures and expanded services and coordinated approach to care all lead to better outcomes for patients in the region.
Heart Valve Disease Symptoms
Heart valves control blood flow to different parts of the body. When they become too narrow and hardened to fully open, they pump inefficiently. To make up for poor pumping, the heart enlarges and loses elasticity and efficiency. Valve disease can cause heart damage, other complications or even death. Often, there are no symptoms at all, but watch for these signs:
- Shortness of breath and wheezing after minimal physical activity
- Swelling of limbs or abdomen
- Fever or rapid weight gain
- Fatigue, dizziness or fainting
- Heart palpitations or chest pain
Treatment Options
- Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) – A minimally-invasive surgical procedure, which repairs the valve without removing the old, damaged valve. Instead, a replacement valve is wedged into the aortic valve’s place.
- Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair (TMVR) – A procedure where the MitraClip device is implanted to treat mitral regurgitation (MR), which is the leakage of blood backward through the mitral valve each time the heart contracts.
- WATCHMAN – The WATCHMAN device is implanted to help reduce AFib stroke risk by permanently closing off the left atrial appendage (LAA) to keep blood clots from escaping.
To make an appointment with the Heart Valve Center, located within the Heart Hospital – Entrance 7, call the Heart Valve Center at 573-331-3369.
