Princeton Medical first in Southeast to use new heart valve

Princeton Medical first in Southeast to use new heart valve

Birmingham’s Princeton Baptist Medical Center recently became the first center in the southeast area of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and the panhandle of Florida to implant the newly FDA approved CoreValve Evolut PRO TAVR for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis for patients at high or extreme risk for open heart surgery.

Recently unveiled clinical data showed high survival, low rates of stroke and minimal paravalvular leak for the valve.

Aortic stenosis is a common but serious condition that occurs when the heart’s aortic valve narrows, restricting blood flow from the heart to the aorta, which can severely weaken the heart muscle. If left untreated it can lead to heart failure and even death. Mustafa Ahmed, director of the Structural Heart Disease Program at Princeton Medical Center; Clifton Lewis, cardiac surgeon at Princeton; and their team have performed several hundred cases involving TAVR.

‘Strive to advance’

Ahmed said, “One of our strongest areas of expertise is treating patients with aortic stenosis who likely could not undergo open-heart surgery. As established leaders in the field of cardiac surgery and advancing the field through research and the use of cutting-edge technology, we continue to strive to advance new minimally invasive treatments for our patients and surrounding communities.”

The Evolut PRO device is created to be repositionable, so accuracy in placement and control during the procedure is increased. It also is delivered through the EnVeo R Delivery Catheter System, which is the lowest delivery platform currently on the market and provides a greater opportunity to treat patients with smaller vessels.

For more information, visit brookwoodbaptisthealth.com/our-services/heart/structural-heart-and-valve. (Brookwood Baptist Health, TAB)