Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) and Left Atrial Appendage
Occlusion Implant (LAAO, or also known as the Watchman device)
New heart procedures to potentially save lives and improve quality of life.
As Antelope Valley Medical Center (AVMC) advances the health care options for
our local communities, AVMC now has the technology available to lower the
risk of stroke without performing open heart surgery. AVMC recently added
two new heart procedures called Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
(TAVR) and Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Implant (LAAO, or also known
as the Watchman device) to the hospital’s Cardiology services. Antelope Valley Medical Center is the only hospital in the AV area to provide these life-changing
procedures.
TAVR for Aortic Stenosis
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, or TAVR, is a minimally invasive
procedure to replace diseased aortic valves without performing open heart
surgery. The aortic valve is a vital heart structure that tends to degenerate
and malfunction as patients age. The traditional way to replace the aortic
valve is through performing open heart surgery, a major procedure that
requires opening of the chest and stopping the heart, as well as, the
removal of the native disease. Recovery is typically long and painful.
TAVR, instead, delivers a new tissue aortic valve, mounted inside a catheter,
through a small puncture in the right femoral artery, without the need
to open the chest or stopping the heart. The procedure has been around
for nearly 10 years, and is continuously refined. Multiple clinical trials
have proven the safety and efficacy of minimally invasive aortic valve
replacement (TAVR) compared to open heart surgery and valve replacement.
TAVR is now considered the standard of care, as it has proven equivalence
and/or superior to surgical valve replacement. Patients who undergo TAVR
are typically discharged after an overnight stay in the hospital. This
procedure is available for people with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis
at low, intermediate or high risk for standard valve replacement surgery.
LAAO (Watchman Device) for Atrial Fibrillation
The Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Implant (LAAO) procedure is an effective
way to reduce stroke risk in patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation is a common cardiac condition that the effects tens
of millions of people in the United States. Certain patients with atrial
fibrillation are prone to strokes and neurological damage. One way to
minimize the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation is to
use anti-coagulants such as Warfarin, Xarelto, Eliquis and Pradaxa. Although
these medications are effective at reducing the incidence of strokes,
they have their own serious side effects. They all can cause serious and
at times life-threatening bleeding.
Many patients cannot take anti-coagulants, and are therefore left with
unchecked stroke risk. The blood clots that lead to strokes in atrial
fibrillation patients develop in a particular portion of the heart, known
as the left atrial appendage. This is a recess in the left upper heart
chamber that, if closed, dramatically lowers the risk of strokes. Fortunately,
AVMC now has the technology to do that without performing open heart surgery.
The device used is known as left atrial appendage occlude (LAAO) or the
Watchman device. The device is inserted through a small incision in the right groin
and is a permanent implant. Patients who receive this device are only
hospitalized overnight. Once in place, there is no need for long-term
anti-coagulation with the associated lifelong risk of bleeding.
