January 5, 2015 – The Heart Valve team at Jewish Hospital, part of KentuckyOne Health, has successfully completed a new life-saving heart procedure for patients with mitral regurgitation (MR) who are too ill for open-heart surgery. This is the first time in Louisville the minimally invasive MitraClip procedure has been completed.
The MitraClip is a small metal clip that treats patients with MR, a condition where the heart’s mitral valve leaflets do not close tightly, allowing blood to leak into the heart’s left atrium and can lead to advanced heart failure. The clip is delivered through the femoral vein with a catheter by the Heart Valve Team, which consists of an interventional cardiologist and a cardiovascular surgeon.
The MitraClip procedure shortens recovery time and ultimately improves quality of life for those experiencing life-altering symptoms from MR, like fatigue, shortness of breath, swelling of the feet or ankles and heart murmur.
“This new treatment expands the options for select patients with MR, especially those who are not candidates for invasive open-heart surgery,” said Kendra Grubb, MD, MHA assistant professor of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at University of Louisville. “This procedure allows us to use catheter-based technology to repair the mitral valve, without the need for cardiopulmonary bypass or an incision on the chest.”
The Heart Valve team at Jewish Hospital is expanding on their experience in over 150 Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacements (TAVR). With MitraClip and TAVR, KentuckyOne Health physicians like Michael Flaherty, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Medicine and director Adult Structural Heart Disease at University of Louisville, are now able to treat a number of serious heart conditions with minimally invasive methods.
“This is a major breakthrough for patients too ill to undergo open heart surgery,” said Dr. Flaherty. “In the past, the only option to help patients with congestive heart failure was to band-aid the symptoms with medication.
But with technology like the MitraClip, innovations like TAVR, we’re presented with a huge opportunity to increase the health and quality of life of many patients, including those who are not candidates for open-heart surgery.”
During the MitraClip procedure, a physician will use traditional catheter techniques to guide the clip into the left atrium. The clip is lowered and attached to the valve to repair or reduce MR. Before final placement, the clip can be moved and rotated to ensure optimal fit.
MR is the most common type of heart valve insufficiency in the United States, affecting approximately 4 million people. This condition cannot be medically treated, and previously could only be repaired with open-heart surgery on patients who were otherwise physically healthy.
Physicians with KentuckyOne Health Heart Care at Saint Joseph East in Lexington, also saw success with completion of the first MitraClip procedure in 2013, which was part of the clinical trial.
About KentuckyOne Health
KentuckyOne Health, the largest and most comprehensive health system in the Commonwealth, has more than 200 locations including, hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies in Kentucky and southern Indiana. KentuckyOne Health is dedicated to bringing wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved.
The system is made up of the former Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System, along with the the University of Louisville Hospital and James Graham Brown Cancer Center. KentuckyOne Health is proud of and strengthened by its Catholic, Jewish and academic heritages.