Bill Duke was diagnosed with aortic stenosis, a narrowing of the aortic valve, ten years ago. He hadn’t suffered any effects until earlier this year.
“I used to be on the treadmill for 45 minutes, on a high elevation, at a rapid pace, “said Duke. “Suddenly, I had to push to go five minutes, at a low elevation, on a slow pace. I noticed several times, I’d have to grab on to the bars and stop, because I was so lightheaded and dizzy. It was a scary thing.”
Duke’s cardiologist told him the problem could be life-threatening if not treated. This month, Duke became the 1000th patient to undergo the TAVR procedure at WellSpan. He says he felt an improvement almost immediately.
“The next day, I snapped a picture of myself standing and feeling better, and sent it to my family,” said Duke. “I would definitely recommend the TAVR procedure, and I would 100 percent recommend folks go to WellSpan York Hospital to get it.”
WellSpan is finding a better way for a common procedure
“We had a group of people that would think outside the box enough to not just do the best of what we know, but figure out what may be wrong with what we know” explained James Harvey III M.D., Director of the Structural Heart Program, WellSpan Health.
WellSpan cardiologists are leading a shift, exploring a new way of deploying a valve in the minimally-invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure for patients who may otherwise require open-heart surgery.
So far, over 200 of these procedures have been completed at WellSpan York Hospital, and physicians are seeing the improved results.
On average, 25 percent of patients who have a TAVR procedure often required a pacemaker in follow up care. However, as WellSpan cardiologists have now deployed that valve utilizing their new technique, the percentage of patients requiring a pacemaker has fallen sharply into single digit percentages, a big improvement.
“We figured out a better way to look at it and we’re privileged enough to be able to develop a new technique that dramatically and reproducibly improves outcomes and reduces pacemaker rates, undoubtedly helps to keep patients a healthy step ahead,” said Harvey
The idea was born out of collaboration with UPMC Pinnacle and Dr. Hemal Gada, the Medical Director of their Structural Heart Program. Based on the findings, companies like Medtronic have now endorsed this method as best practice for the procedure.
“The best part about these results is that they’re really not achieved by an individual,” said Harvey. “It’s the team of excellent, capable partners and staff that make this entirely possible.”
In October Harvey performed the procedure in front of a remote audience of physicians from across North America to help spread the word. Utilizing the Avail Medsystems camera and video technology in the procedure room, Harvey was able to talk through the procedure with Gada proctoring remotely from his office in Lancaster.
“We’re really changing how this is done,” said Harvey. “And it’s having dramatic impacts not just locally, but across the world.”
For more on WellSpan’s Heart & Vascular programs, visit www.WellSpan.org/Heart.
