Emory physicians recently completed their 200th Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also approved the new transcatheter heart valve, under study at Emory since 2007, to treat severe aortic stenosis.
The device called the SAPIEN valve, developed by Edwards Lifesciences, offers a new non-surgical treatment option for patients with failing aortic valves. Emory University Hospital was one of 23 sites nationwide, and the only one in Georgia, to study transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with the SAPIEN valve.
Aortic stenosis is a life-threatening heart condition that affects tens of thousands of Americans each year when the aortic valve tightens or narrows, preventing blood from flowing through normally.
During the TAVR procedure, doctors create a small incision in the groin or chest wall and then feed the new valve made of cow heart tissue, mounted on a wire mesh on a catheter, and place it where the new valve is needed. This offers a non-invasive way for doctors to treat patients who are not candidates for traditional surgery.
This is a major milestone in the treatment of heart disease, the development of this procedure and this FDA approval will allow us to help even more patients with valvular heart disease and could mean the difference between life or death for a countless number of patients who are too sick or weak to undergo open-heart surgery to replace their diseased valves.
My colleague, Peter Block, MD, helped lead the Emory clinical trial, along with surgical colleagues, Robert Guyton, MD and Vinod Thourani, MD.
For more information please visit: http://emoryhealthcare.org/medicaladvances/heart-vascular-etma/transcatheter-aortic-valve-implantation.html
Aortic Stenosis Related Resources:
About Vasilis Babaliaros, MD
Dr. Babaliaros is an Interventional Cardiologist at the Emory Heart & Vascular Center. He specializes in structural heart diseases. Dr. Babaliaros traveled to France to learn the new lifesaving approach, training for several years alongside cardiologist Alain Cribier, MD, who successfully implanted the world’s first transcatheter heart valve in 2002. He is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.
Heart & Vascular
Emory patient, Donna Fielding, a healthy looking 41 year old mother of two is sure that stress and her high-intensity type A personality lead to her heart attack at 37. Her heart attack taught Donna to “take a step back, take a deep breath, and make a decision.” She doesn’t let the “little things” in life ruin her days any longer. 
