Aortic stenosis is a condition in which the aortic valve narrows, restricting the flow of blood from the heart. Symptoms may include heart murmur, shortness of breath, chest pain and lightheadedness. The condition eventually leads to heart failure and sudden death. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, or TAVR for short, is a non-surgical procedure to treat aortic stenosis.
TAVR is often used for patients who are at intermediate to high risk or unable to have conventional open-heart surgery. In the procedure, a diseased heart valve is replaced with an artificial heart valve, held in place by a metal stent. This stops further damage to the heart and can help patients live longer.
The UR Medicine Advanced Heart Valve Center was the first in the region to perform TAVR. And, we have performed more TAVR procedures than any other center in the area.
We are also the only center in the area that specializes in heart valve disease.
A complete team of people—from surgeons to cardiologists, cardiovascular radiologist to nurses, technicians and imaging specialists—who all specialize in the treatment of valve disease.