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Cover Story
Cover Story Lake charles memorial receives nation’s first TAVR certification
Lake Charles Memorial’s Heart & Vascular team is leading the nation once again by becoming the first, out of 645 programs nationwide, to receive the prestigious certification by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). The TAVR procedure is a less invasive option to replace diseased aortic valves without open heart surgery. Memorial’s TAVR team – led by Cardiovascular/ Thoracic Surgeon J. Gregory Lugo, MD, and Interventional Cardiologists Edward Bergen, DO, and Christopher Thompson, MD – received the certification by implementing best practices and achieving quality outcomes.
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Aortic stenosis occurs when calcium builds up within the aortic valve, limiting the valve’s ability to open and close. As the condition progresses, the valve opening narrows, obstructing blood flow and forcing the heart to pump harder. The progression of aortic stenosis cannot be reversed or stopped but requires surgical intervention to treat. Studies show that the survival rate of aortic stenosis without intervention is as low as 50 percent at two years after the onset of symptoms.
TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure, in which the bioprosthetic valve is crimped onto a catheter over a balloon. The catheter (a long, thin, flexible tube), is then inserted through the femoral artery in the groin and advanced to the heart for implantation. When the valve is positioned inside the existing aortic valve, the balloon is inflated, and the new valve is immediately operable. This procedure doesn’t require removal of the existing valve, as the valve leaflets act as an anchor for the new valve.
Gregory Lugo, MD Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgeon
Edward Bergen, DO Interventional Cardiologist
“Patients who are not surgical candidates due to advanced age, frailty, or co-morbidities now have an opportunity to be evaluated and treated. TAVR greatly benefits those who are suffering from heart failure due to their valve and offers them hope for a better quality of life.” says Misty Theriot, Registered Nurse and Valve Clinic Coordinator. “Our heart team takes a truly patient-centered approach when developing treatment plans for these patients, ensuring that they are involved in each step of the process.”
The ACC validated that Memorial meets set standards for multidisciplinary teams, formalized training, shared decision-making and registry performance. Hospitals that achieve Transcatheter Valve Certification have access to best practices to support decision-making in the care of individual patients and to track data to identify opportunities for improvement.
“We are proud to recognize Lake Charles Memorial Hospital as the first recipient of ACC Transcatheter Valve Certification,” said Phillip Levy, MD, FACC, chair of the ACC Accreditation Management Board. “Lake Charles achieved this distinction by developing processes to standardize patient care and increase quality measurement, thereby demonstrating their commitment to providing evidence-based, patientcentered care to patients undergoing transcatheter valve therapies in southwest Louisiana.”
While being the first certified program in the nation was not the goal, achieving the best patient outcomes is, and will continue to be, the Heart & Vascular team’s priority.
For more information about the TAVR procedure, please call the Memorial Medical Group Valve Clinic at 337.494.4759 or go to www.lcmh.com/heart.
