More than 50 TAVR Procedures Performed by Baptist Heart & Vascular Institute
More than 50 TAVR Procedures Performed by Baptist Heart & Vascular Institute
PENSACOLA, Fla. (April 12, 2016) Baptist Heart & Vascular Institute (BH&VI) has now performed more than 50 Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), procedures. This is significant because no other provider in the area offers this life saving procedure that may be the only hope for patients considered too high risk for traditional open heart surgery. This is a tremendous milestone for BH&VI and a great benefit to the people in Northwest Florida who need this level of advanced care.
TAVR is saving people and improving the quality of life for patients. BH&VI is the first team of cardiovascular specialists in the Florida Panhandle and one of the select programs in the nation to offer TAVR for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are not candidates for traditional open heart surgery.
Aortic stenosis is a thickening of the aortic valve opening that restricts normal blood flow to the entire body. Patients who suffer from aortic stenosis often experience symptoms that can restrict normal day-to-day activities, such as walking short distances or climbing stairs, due to shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain or fatigue. Severe aortic stenosis is a serious problem. If left untreated and not repaired it is potentially fatal. Studies indicate that 50 percent of severe aortic stenosis patients will not survive more than an average of two years after the onset of symptoms.
The replacement valve is now in its third generation and advancements have made the procedure an option for even more at-risk patients, says F. James Fleischhauer, M.D. Dr. Fleischhauer is a board certified interventional cardiologist who performs TAVR procedures at Baptist Hospital along with interventional cardiologist Luther Carter, M.D., and cardiothoracic surgeons James Nielsen, M.D., and William Bailey, M.D.
The multidisciplinary TAVR team at BH&VI is unique to the Northwest Florida area. Board certified interventional cardiologists partner with a highly skilled cardiothoracic surgeons to complete the procedure.
To make an appointment with the physicians of the Baptist Heart & Vascular Institute, call at 850.484.6500 or visit CountonBaptist.org to learn more about the many innovative cardiovascular procedures offered.
