Tuesday, October 26, 2010

New heart valve procedure promising for high-risk patient (Canada)

New heart valve procedure promising for high-risk patient"Cardiologists have unveiled a new heart valve procedure for patients considered too sick, old or frail to survive a tough operation that splits their chests open. The procedure was revealed Monday at Canadian Cardiovascular Congress taking place in Montreal. Normally, half such high-risk patients - age 80 and over - would die within a year because their diseased aortic valves have worn out and they cannot have open-heart surgery. But placing a new valve through an artery in the leg has yielded dramatic results, opening doors to what experts suggest will become a new gold standard of care for aging boomer hearts in the next decade. Not only are these patients walking about the very same day of their transcatheter valve-replacement procedure, but most go home within three to four days, Australian interventional cardiologist Ronen Gurvitch said Monday after his presentation" - Montreal Gazette

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