South Texas Health System Heart (STHS Heart) has been committed to delivering high-quality cardiovascular care in the Rio Grande Valley for nearly three decades. It has advanced the status of care in the region, including delivering innovative options for treating structural heart disease (SHD) to the community.
Structural heart disease refers to issues with the heart’s physical anatomy—its shape and form complications. Various conditions are associated with SHD, such as cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease and aortic stenosis. It can develop with aging or be present from birth. In its late stages, SHD can be a highly symptomatic disease, with the potential for symptoms that severely affect quality of life.
“The problem basically relates to something structural with the morphology of the heart or the structural parts of the heart, let’s say a valve, or there’s a hole in the myocardium,” said Federico Azpurua, M.D., FACC, an interventional cardiologist with STHS Clinics.
Aortic stenosis can be successfully treated if detected and treated in its early stages, with a variety of treatment options available depending on the condition. For patients with aortic stenosis, the option of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) now exists. This new and minimally invasive procedure opens the doors of treatment to many patients who previously would not have been candidates for an open-heart procedure. However, awareness and early recognition are necessary for patient success.
“The mortality rate for structural heart diseases, particularly aortic valve stenosis, is quite high. Once a patient diagnosed with aortic valve stenosis becomes symptomatic, the survival rate is as high as 50% at two years and 20% at five years,” said Carol Mejia, BSN, RN, Director of Advanced Cardiac Care STHS Heart.
“It is very important to raise awareness because it is very common and it is associated with significant symptoms and deterioration in the quality of life of patients, as well as with multiple other medical problems, including heart failure,” said Dr. Azpurua.
The TAVR procedure was introduced at STHS Heart in Nov. 2020. According to Mejia, the program has helped increase awareness about SHD and aortic stenosis in the region, as it opened a pathway for patients to receive treatment for the condition close to home. Since 2020, the facility has performed over 400 TAVR procedures. The less invasive procedure allows patients to recover from the operation quickly.
“Most patients are admitted to the hospital the morning of their procedure and the majority are able to go home the next day. Patients are asked to avoid any heavy lifting or pushing for about a week until they follow-up with the cardiologists in the clinic. Most patients are free to resume their normal activities after that,” said Mejia.
Part of the treatment plan for structural heart patients can involve the STHS Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (ICR), an outpatient program meant for individuals with heart disease or who have recently undergone cardiac procedures. Cardiac rehab allows patients to improve their strength and balance in a monitored setting. Patients and caregivers also have the opportunity to obtain information about their diagnosis and how to best manage their condition with medication, exercise, a heart-healthy diet, and a healthy mindset.
STHS Heart is committed to delivering a high standard of care. It has established quality metrics to measure the success and outcome of each case and allows doctors to track each patient’s progress following treatment.
A combined team of specialists and nurses must consistently deliver quality SHD treatment procedures effectively and at volume. Dr. Azpurua commends the team’s dedication to providing excellent care.
“We can provide good quality treatment because of the commitment of the team. The physicians are committed to doing the right thing for our patients — to prepare the cases in the right way. We don’t cut corners. We work all together with a great team that is composed of the interventional cardiologist, the cardiothoracic surgeon, the valve coordinator, the nurse, and staff at all our medical facilities, our offices, as well as the team in the hospital. We analyze all our cases. When things go right, we try to replicate those, and when things go wrong, we analyze those so we can fix the problems and continue moving toward improvements.”
To learn more about the structural heart program and other cardiovascular services at STHS Heart, visit southtexashealthsystemheart.com.
