The size of your heart is as big as your fist. It is made up of four chambers and four valves. The contractions (heartbeats) of the four chambers push the blood through the valves and out to your body. However, when there is calcium build-up in one of the heart valves called the aortic valve, the blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body gets restricted. This condition is called Aortic Stenosis. Severe aortic stenosis is an age-related, progressive disease. It can be caused by a congenital heart defect, rheumatic fever or radiation therapy.
How to treat aortic stenosis?
Since aortic stenosis conditions are prevalent in the elderly, surgical risks are high. Therefore, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is recommended which is both safe and efficacious in high-risk patients with comorbidities. TAVI is a minimally invasive valve replacement procedure as compared to surgical valve replacement, however, sometimes the TAVI procedure can cause debris to flow in the circulation flow, which can cause a stroke. Hence, to help protect patients from the risk of a stroke during TAVI, cardiologists consider using Protected TAVI using the Cerebral Protection System (CPS) which prevents debris from entering the brain.
How to reduce stroke risk in TAVI?
The Cerebral Protection System (CPS) is the device to offer you protection from the risk of stroke during TAVI. It works by capturing embolic debris dislodged during TAVI before it can reach the brain. Clinical trials involving more than 3,500 patients have demonstrated that the device is safe and effective. The cerebral protection technology has been used to protect thousands of patients worldwide and is the most-studied embolic protection device in its field.
It’s important to have a conversation with your cardiologist before your TAVI procedure to ensure you’re getting the protection you need. Planning is essential in reducing the likelihood of stroke risks during TAVI. Mitigation of the risk of complications in TAVI involves high-tech equipment, skilled doctors performing the procedure, and strict control over the patient’s condition before the procedure, which contributes significantly to avoiding complications within the period following the intervention itself. Although TAVI has become simpler, we cannot overlook the stroke risk that may emerge.
The author is Dr. Rajneesh Kapoor, Chairman - Interventional Cardiology, Medanta the Medicity, Gurgaon
