DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., April 15, 2016 On April 6, patients who have undergone a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement or TAVR, for short at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center came back to the hospital to celebrate the one year anniversary of the procedure's introduction to the community.
This minimally invasive procedure replaces heart valves in patients who are either high-risk or too sick for open heart surgery.
This is truly a lifesaving procedure for many in our community. Without TAVR, some of these patients would either live with this condition in poor health until they died, or they would have to travel out of the area for the procedure, which many are too sick to do, said Scott Strech, cardiovascular administrator for the Florida Hospital East Florida Region, which is comprised of six Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties.
TAVR is for patients who have been diagnosed with a narrowing of the heart's aortic valve opening, called severe aortic stenosis.
Many patients with severe aortic stenosis describe feeling like they are being smothered or drowning, Strech said. Because the heart valve isn't functioning properly, patients often have trouble breathing, so much so that even brief walking is very difficult, making traveling out of the area for care seem like an insurmountable obstacle.
Typically, patients with this condition are treated with an open heart surgery procedure. However, for those who cannot undergo open heart surgery, TAVR is a new and less invasive option.
Instead of opening up the chest and replacing the diseased heart valve, TAVR uses a catheter to place a stented heart valve.
Dick Cheney, an Ormond Beach resident and retired candy salesman, was the first patient to undergo TAVR at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in April 2015.
Prior to the procedure, he had three stents placed over the span of several years and was no longer a candidate for open heart surgery.
Before TAVR, I was really sick and short of breath all the time I couldn't even take out the trash without discomfort, Cheney said.
The day after his TAVR procedure, Cheney said his symptoms were all gone he could breathe and he no longer had any chest pain or angina.
To learn more about this procedure, watch: https://youtu.be/rCw3hkNM0T0.
About Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center
Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center is a member of Adventist Health System, a faith-based health care organization with 46 hospital campuses and nearly 8,200 licensed beds in 10 states. Our locations include Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach and Florida Hospital Oceanside in Ormond Beach, as well as outpatient facilities in Port Orange, Daytona Beach Shores and New Smyrna Beach. With 277-beds, Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center is one of the six Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties that composes the Florida Hospital East Florida Region. As the largest hospital system in the area, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region has 899 beds and nearly 5,900 employees. With a mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region collectively contributed nearly $120 million in benefits in 2015 to the underprivileged, the community's overall health and wellness and spiritual needs, and capital improvements. For more information about Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center, visit www.floridahospitalmemorial.org.
