Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)

The Less Invasive Therapy for Aortic Stenosis

Community Memorial Hospital is the only hospital in Western Ventura County with a dedicated TAVR team

Consisting of surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, radiologists, and nurses, our TAVR team has received extensive, procedure-specific training and works as a cohesive team to ensure each patient’s treatment is tailored to his or her needs.

Omid Fatemi, M.D.
CMHS Medical Director of Structural Heart & High-Risk Revascularization
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Dr. Omid Fatemi specializes in interventional cardiology. He received his medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas and his fellowship at Georgetown/Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC. He is a member of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions.

What is Structural Heart?
Structural Heart refers to the diagnosis and treatment of defects and diseases affecting the physical structure of the heart. Structural Heart procedures include valve repair and replacement, left atrial appendage occlusion, heart failure interventional device therapies, and the closure of ASDs, and PFOs.

What is Aortic Stenosis? Play video

Aortic stenosis (AS) is one of the most common and most serious valve disease problems¹

With AS, the opening of the aortic heart valve narrows. As a result, the heart needs to work harder and may not pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body.²

Approximately 2.5 million people in the U.S. 75 years or older suffer from AS.³

What causes Aortic Stenosis? Play video

Without treatment, severe symptomatic AS is life-threatening⁵

After the onset of symptoms, patients with severe AS have a survival rate as low as 50% at 2 years and 20% at 5 years without aortic valve replacement.⁶

Traditional treatment for this disease is open-heart surgery, which may require extensive hospital stays and recovery times.⁷

Why Go Through Open Heart Surgery When There’s a Less Invasive Option?

The impact of TAVR today

Short length of hospital stay.**

**The PARTNER II S3i trial, SAPIEN 3 Valve, unadjusted procedural factors (AT)

The survival rate at 30 days for patients at intermediate-risk of open-heart surgery who received the SAPIEN 3 valve.***

***The PARTNER II trial intermediate-risk cohort 30-day unadjusted clinical event rates for TAVR with the SAPIEN 3 valve, AT population (n=1077)

Valves in the SAPIEN family are implanted in more patients worldwide than any other transcatheter heart valve.

Evelyn’s Winning Attitude Towards Life Is Renewed Play video

What Happens During a TAVR Procedure?

Since FDA approval in 2011, TAVR has opened a new door of possibilities and options for treating people with severe aortic stenosis.

What makes TAVR different from open heart surgery is that it uses a less invasive approach to treat a diseased aortic valve. A TAVR Doctor will determine the best approach for replacing your valve, but the most common technique involves a small incision made in the leg. This is called the transfemoral approach.

In the transfemoral approach, your TAVR Doctor will make a small incision in your leg and a catheter will be inserted into your artery while your heart is still beating. Your TAVR Doctor will then guide the catheter up to your heart and will replace the valve within your diseased aortic valve. Learn more about what to expect during the TAVR procedure.

Play video

The Community Memorial Hospital TAVR team can walk you through the procedure and determine if TAVR is right for you.

To learn more about TAVR at Community Memorial Hospital, please contact our Structural Heart Coordinator, Erin Carlander, MSN, RN at 805-948-5665.

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Legal Info:

Visit SAPIEN3.com for Important Safety Information.

CAUTION: Federal (United States) law restricts these to sale by or on the order of a physician. See instructions for use for full prescribing information, including indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and adverse events.

The Edwards SAPIEN 3 transcatheter heart valve, model 9600TFX, and accessories are indicated for relief of aortic stenosis in patients with symptomatic heart disease due to severe native calcific aortic stenosis who are judged by a Heart Team, including a cardiac surgeon, to be at intermediate or greater risk for open surgical therapy (i.e., predicted risk of surgical mortality ≥ 3% at 30 days, based on the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) risk score and other clinical co-morbidities unmeasured by the STS risk calculator).

The TAVR procedure may involve general anesthesia and is associated with specific contraindications as well as adverse eects, including risks of death, major stroke, major vascular complications and life threatening bleeding event.

For more information about the benefits and risks of the SAPIEN 3 valve, visit SAPIEN3.com.

1. www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProlemsandDisease/Problem-Aortic-Valve-Stenosis_UCM_450437_Article.jsp#.Vt4 DAX0rKM8 2. www.newheartvalve.com/what-is-aortic-stenosis 3. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. June 2015 4. Das P. European Heart Journal. 2005;26:1309-1313 5. Lester SJ et al. CHEST 1998;113(4):1109-1114 6. Otto CM. Heart. 2000:84: 211-218. 7. www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Newer-Heart-Valve-Surgery-Options_ UCM_462302_Article.jsp#.Vt4GbX0rKM9