The cardiology team at Mercy Health – Springfield Regional Medical Center is now offering a breakthrough, minimally invasive treatment option for people with a leaky heart valve who are not eligible for traditional open-heart surgery.
“There’s no such thing as one size fits all, so we’re constantly trying to grow Mercy Health’s heart and vascular services. Increasing accessibility to specialized cardiac care allows our patients in Clark and Champaign County to get the help they need close to home, which often leads to better outcomes,” said Lori Blanton-Baugh, Director of Cardiology Services for Mercy Health – Springfield.
Mitral regurgitation (MR) is one of the most common heart valve conditions. It happens when the leaflets, or flaps, of the mitral valve do not close completely, allowing blood to flow back into the heart as it pumps. As a result, the heart has to work harder to keep blood flowing and can raise the risk for life-threatening stroke and heart failure.
“When MR becomes severe, it can profoundly affect a person’s quality of life by causing shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, and other debilitating symptoms. If left untreated, it can ultimately lead to heart failure and death,” warned Mercy Health cardiologist Dr. Faiq Akhter.
Dr. Akhter and Dr. Tariq Rizvi are the two Mercy Health cardiologists now offering Mitral Trans Catheter Edge-to-Edge Repair (TEER), a new procedure to help patients dealing with this condition. It’s done using the MitraClip, a small, clip-based device that has proven to repair primary and secondary MR without the need for open-heart surgery. The MitraClip is delivered to the heart through a small incision in the leg and works by clipping together a portion of the leaflets of the mitral valve to reduce the backflow of blood, which allows the heart to pump blood more efficiently.
“TEER is an option for patients who may have previously been turned down for surgery,” explained Dr. Akhter. “This procedure typically takes under an hour and patients are only in the hospital one or two days compared to the weeklong stay surgery patients often face. Not only that, but they usually start to feel better immediately.”
“There’s no such thing as one size fits all, so we’re constantly trying to grow Mercy Health’s heart and vascular services. Increasing accessibility to specialized cardiac care allows our patients in Clark and Champaign County to get the help they need close to home, which often leads to better outcomes,” said Lori Blanton-Baugh, Director of Cardiology Services for Mercy Health – Springfield.
Mitral regurgitation (MR) is one of the most common heart valve conditions. It happens when the leaflets, or flaps, of the mitral valve do not close completely, allowing blood to flow back into the heart as it pumps. As a result, the heart has to work harder to keep blood flowing and can raise the risk for life-threatening stroke and heart failure.
“When MR becomes severe, it can profoundly affect a person’s quality of life by causing shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, and other debilitating symptoms. If left untreated, it can ultimately lead to heart failure and death,” warned Mercy Health cardiologist Dr. Faiq Akhter.
Dr. Akhter and Dr. Tariq Rizvi are the two Mercy Health cardiologists now offering Mitral Trans Catheter Edge-to-Edge Repair (TEER), a new procedure to help patients dealing with this condition. It’s done using the MitraClip, a small, clip-based device that has proven to repair primary and secondary MR without the need for open-heart surgery. The MitraClip is delivered to the heart through a small incision in the leg and works by clipping together a portion of the leaflets of the mitral valve to reduce the backflow of blood, which allows the heart to pump blood more efficiently.
“TEER is an option for patients who may have previously been turned down for surgery,” explained Dr. Akhter. “This procedure typically takes under an hour and patients are only in the hospital one or two days compared to the weeklong stay surgery patients often face. Not only that, but they usually start to feel better immediately.”