What is structural heart disease?
Structural heart diseases are those that affect the structures that make up your heart — the chambers, valves, and walls. Some people are born with structural heart disease, while others develop one later in life.
Structural heart disease that develops after birth or when you're older can be a consequence of having conditions such as:
- Rheumatic fever
- Endocarditis
- Cardiomyopathy
- Heart attack
Structural heart disease is also more likely to affect you if you have disorders like high blood pressure or atherosclerosis (narrowed arteries) that damage your blood vessels. Certain medications can increase your risk of structural heart disease, too.
What can structural heart intervention help with?
Structural heart intervention can help treat diseases such as:
- Aortic stenosis
- Patent foramen ovale
- Aortic valve disease
- Atrial septal defect
- Mitral valve disease
- Ventricular septal defect
- Pulmonary valve disease
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Tricuspid valve disease
To determine if you need structural heart intervention, Dr. Gaglani conducts a physical exam, reviews your symptoms, and looks at your medical history. He's likely to order tests to assess your condition, such as an echocardiogram, CT scan, cardiac MRI, or cardiac PET stress test.
What types of structural heart intervention are there?
Structural heart disease doesn't always require treatment. Sometimes medication to prevent blood clots is all you need for a disorder like patent foramen ovale, for instance. If your condition causes symptoms or presents a risk to your health, you might require structural heart intervention.
Wherever possible, Dr. Gaglani uses minimally invasive cardiac catheterization techniques to treat structural heart disease. These procedures have distinct advantages for suitable patients in comparison to open surgery, including:
- Shorter procedure time
- Minimal blood loss
- Less pain
- Shorter hospital stay
- Little or no scarring
- Faster recovery
- Lower risk of complications
Cardiac catheterization techniques Dr. Gaglani might use to treat your structural heart disease include:
Transcatheter mitral valve repair
In this procedure for treating a hole in the heart, Dr. Gaglani implants a tiny metal clip in your heart's mitral valve. The clip holds the mitral valve closed to prevent blood from flowing the wrong way.
Balloon valvuloplasty or valvotomy
In this procedure, Dr. Gaglani inserts a balloon to open valves afflicted with stenosis, which causes stiffening and sometimes fusion of the valves.
Transcatheter valve techniques
Dr. Gaglani uses transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to replace diseased aortic valves without open surgery, and transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) to treat mitral valve disease.
Alcohol septal ablation
Dr. Gaglani uses alcohol septal ablation to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The alcohol destroys targeted heart cells to improve blood flow.
Find out more about structural heart intervention by calling Core Cardiology or booking an appointment online today.
