Structural heart and valve disease affects the valves that regulate blood flow within the heart. Some structural heart and valve conditions are present from birth (congenital), and others are the result of heart diseases or illnesses that occur throughout a person’s lifetime. Some structural heart diseases BayCare specializes in are:
Aortic Valve Stenosis
Also called aortic valve stenosis, it’s a common problem where the aortic valve of the heart can become thickened, meaning that it’s too narrow and doesn't open very well. This causes blood flow from the heart into the rest of the body to be obstructed, forcing the heart to work overtime to pump sufficient blood.
Aortic or Mitral Valve Regurgitation
Aortic or mitral valve regurgitation occurs when a heart valve doesn’t close tightly, allowing blood to leak or flow backwards (or in reverse) of the proper direction.
Pulmonary Valve Stenosis
Tricuspid Valve Disease
Endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair
Surgical Aortic Valve Repair and Replacement
Surgical Treatment for Thoracic and Abdominal Aortic Disease Including Aneurysms and Dissections
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair
Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair
Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement
Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR) is a minimally invasive treatment option for mitral valve regurgitation in which a new prosthetic valve replaces a person’s own heart valve without open-heart surgery.
Before
Before structural heart procedures, your cardiovascular surgeon may require pre-op testing. These typically involve lab tests, chest x-rays, echocardiogram, electrocardiogram and cardiac catheterization. Your doctor will schedule your surgery day, and the week prior to surgery, you will receive a phone call with your procedure time.
Procedure Day
On structural heart procedure day, you will check in and may need to fill out your treatment consent forms. Once completed (for most procedures), you will sit in a waiting room before being given a pre-operative room where you will receive your IV and speak with the team, which may include your surgeon, surgical nurses and an anesthesiologist.
After
What occurs after the procedure varies based on which procedure you have. After leaving the operating room, most patients will recover in post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). Some minimally invasive procedures may offer outpatient options (going home same day) while others may require a longer hospital stay. If hospitalization is needed, the medical team will monitor your condition, blood pressure, and manage any pain. You may be encouraged to walk and do breathing exercises.
Our structural heart and valve teams at our three flagship facilities work together to share expertise, knowledge and experience, giving every patient across West Central Florida access to the highest quality heart care. Each patient referred to our Structural Heart and Valve programs as a potential candidate is thoroughly evaluated by our multidisciplinary team. The team consists of heart specialists including cardiovascular surgeons, cardiologists, cardiac anesthesiologists and other cardiac care specialists to treat these heart valve disorders. This collaboration across our multidisciplinary teams results in evidence-based approaches that produce superior clinical outcomes for our patients.
BayCare’s Structural Heart and Valve programs hold the Transcatheter Valve Certification from American College of Cardiology (ACC). This certification uses an external review process that pairs with established national clinical databases to monitor patient safety and real-world outcomes for transcatheter valve therapies. Hospitals that achieve Transcatheter Valve Certification use best practices for implementing evidence-based medicine to support patient-centered decision-making and track key performance metrics to better identify opportunities for improvement.
