HCCI Cardiologist Participates in Ground Breaking Procedure 

On Wednesday, September 5th, 2012, Dr. Ravi Ramana, Interventional Cardiologist with Heart Care Centers of Illinois, performed the first non-surgical replacement of an aortic valve using the Edward's SAPIEN Transcatheter Heart Valve Replacement technology at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Dr. Ramana essentially replaced a patient's aortic valve using a small incision in the leg rather than opening the chest and putting the patient on the heart-lung machine as done in conventional open heart surgery.

Patients suffering from Aortic Stenosis, a progressive, age related disease caused by calcium deposits on the aortic valve, and who may not be healthy enough for open heart surgery may now have an alternative with the U.S. FDA-Approved E

dward's SAPIEN Transcatheter Aortic Heart Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedure.

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the narrowing of the aortic valve. As the heart works harder to pump enough blood through the smaller valve opening, the heart weakens which leads to problems such as fainting, chest pain, heart failure, and eventually, death. Over one million people in the U.S. suffer from AS and often these patients have debilitating symptoms that can restrict normal activities such as walking or climbing stairs. These patients benefit from surgery to replace the valve; however, many patients are not treated because they are too high risk or deemed inoperable for surgery. Without an aortic valve replacement, there is no effective treatment and patients eventually succumb to the disease.

Click HERE for more information about the TAVR Procedure.