Aortic stenosis is a progressive narrowing of the aortic valve opening. This constriction forces the heart to pump harder in order to get blood through the valve and out to the body. Over time, aortic stenosis can damage the heart and lead to heart failure. Until recently, the only treatment option was open-heart surgery for patients. In this podcast, Dr. Ramon Partida, an Interventional Cardiologist at MarinHealth Medical Center, describes a new and minimally invasive procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement or TAVR. This intervention actually replaces the defective valve by threading a catheter through a vein in the groin, up to the heart, pushing aside the faulty valve. Find out how TAVR is giving aortic stenosis patients a new lease on life.
