TAVR boon for elderly, high surgical-risk heart valve patients; experts

Addressing a press conference at a hotel here on Friday, Dr. H.K. Bali chairman cardiac sciences at Paras said that now there is an option of the latest non-surgical technique of aortic valve replacement  through  trans catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)  or trans catheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

It is a totally non-surgical treatment, where there is no need to open the chest of the patient surgically, there is No blood loss, negligible chances of infection, the procedure can be performed in 1.5-2 hours and the patient can be discharged in 2-3 days”, he informed.

Among others Dr. Gurvinder Singh president IMA Chandigarh, Dr. Vivek Malhotra secretary, Dr. (Major Gen) Naveen Aggarwal associate director cardiology, Dr. Arvind Kaul  associate director cardiology,  Dr. Veenu Kaul associate director CTVS and Dr. Akashdeep Singh cardiac anaesthetist were also present during the occasion.

Dr Bali further informed that severe Aortic stenosis is a progressive life-threatening condition and in the absence of valve replacement, the survival after onset of symptoms is 50% at 2 years and 20% at 5 years. There is also a 1.5-2% per year risk of sudden death. So, intervention for severe aortic stenosis should be performed promptly, once even minor symptoms occur, he opined.

Symptoms of Valves Disease: :

·         Fatigue

·         Breathlessness

·         Cough

·         Chest pain

·         Palpitations

·         Dizziness or loss of consciousness

·         Swelling of limbs and abdomen