A ‘rock star’ treatment for your heart

As a practicing physician and the Chief Medical Officer for Image Guided Therapy (IGT) at Philips, I have observed first-hand the rapid evolution of minimally invasive procedures. Our field has made a real difference to patient care and transformed the experience of clinicians.

A minimally invasive procedure hits the headlines

Recent high-profile “rock star” media coverage has piqued public interest in a minimally invasive cardiac procedure, known as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) – referred to as transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in Europe and Asia – used to treat aortic stenosis (AS), one of the most common heart valve diseases. 

AS happens when the heart’s aortic valve narrows, preventing the valve from fully opening. This reduces or blocks blood flow from the heart into the main aorta, and on to the rest of the body. When this happens, the heart must work harder to pump blood around the body. This can lead to symptoms such as lightheadedness, shortness of breath or chest pain. Ultimately, if left untreated, AS can be fatal.

TAVR: an option for more patients

Presented at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Meetings earlier this year, both the PARTNER 3 Trial and the CoreValve Low-Risk Trial were conducted on patients who were deemed low-risk surgical candidates, not the usual profile of a patient undergoing TAVR. 

Both trials showed notable benefits of TAVR compared to SAVR, including reduced risks of stroke, death and repeat hospital admissions. 

Shorter waiting times

It’s not just the patient who benefits – lengthy hospital stays as seen with open-heart surgery can be dramatically reduced, alleviating pressure on hospital resources. It’s likely that wider use of TAVR will result in a corresponding decrease in waiting times for treatments.  

The result? Increased satisfaction all round. 

Improving access to care

A growing and aging population means that incidence of heart valve disease is only likely to increase. And what goes hand in hand with this is longer waiting times, already in evidence across the globe. On a recent trip to Thailand I learned that the average waiting time for such a procedure could be one year. So, it’s more important than ever to have efficient solutions that can contribute to reduced costs, shorter hospital stays, and improve efficiency and workflow. I believe that TAVR’s adoption will increase worldwide, in no small part because of the leading innovations from Philips in advanced x-ray interventional suites and navigation tools, which help make TAVR more precise and efficient.

Physicians and patients are optimistic that the FDA is anticipated to approve the procedure for lower-risk patients later this year. That would be particularly encouraging news – one study found that nearly two thirds of patients with severe AS do not receive the appropriate treatment. 

I’m thrilled to see “rock-star” publicity bring awareness to image-guided therapy innovations like TAVR, which will help get more people back to living the lives they love and doing the things they enjoy.