Mains (GS - III) – Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
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TAVI is a minimally invasive procedure for treating severe heart valve diseases in high-risk patients.
Aortic Stenosis –It is a condition where the aortic valve narrows, obstructing blood flow from the heart to the aorta.
As a result, the heart must work harder to pump blood, causing increased pressure within the heart chamber, which can lead to further complications.
Aortic valve is a door that separates the heart from the aorta, the largest artery that carries blood to different organs of our body.
As people age, the valve stops working properly. It becomes stiff and calcified (like a bony structure) that restricts its movements.
Common causes -Degenerative aortic valve disease, bicuspid aortic valve disease and rheumatic heart disease.
Prevalence - 0.4% in the general population and as high as 2.8% in people above the age of 75 years. It is also estimated that more than 10% of individual may have it after 80 years.
Symptoms - Most of the patients remain asymptomatic till the disease becomes severe.
Some symptoms include - Breathlessness, chest pain, syncope (passing out) and fatigue. Some of the individuals develop the weakness of the left side of the heart due to this disease.
Diagnosis -Echocardiogram plays pivotal role in diagnosing the problem.
Treatment -Until a few years ago, the treatment for this condition was surgical replacement of the valve through open-heart surgery.
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVI)– First done in 2002 by professor Alain Cribier, France.
It is the first percutaneous valve replacement procedure, where a new valve is implanted into the old, diseased valve via the arteries.
It is also known as Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVR).
TAVI is superior to Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (SAVR).
TAVI is a minimally invasive procedure, and patients can often be discharged successfully within 2-3 days after the procedure.
In younger patients, Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (SAVR) remains the treatment of choice.
However, in older patients, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is done through the leg arteries for patients aged 65 or older or for those expected to have a life expectancy of less than 10 years.
The ESC (European Society of Cardiology) recommends considering TAVI for patients older than 75.
