A breakthrough in the treatment of severe aortic stenosis could save up to half of the American patients that die from it within 2 years, a new study has said.
Credit: iStockPhoto
NEW ORLEANS: A new type of heart valve made with cow tissue was hailed as a major breakthrough that could eliminate the need for open-heart surgery in some patients, U.S. doctors said.
The method is aimed at high-risk patients who suffer from severe aortic stenosis, a clogged valve that impedes the pathway of oxygen-rich blood by making the heart work harder to pump blood through a narrowing opening. The condition affects 9% of Americans over 65. Without treatment, up to half of patients die within two years.
"You are all witnessing history in the making," said David Moliterno, professor of medicine at the University of Kentucky.
Watching the dramatic progress
The technique of inserting the bioprosthetic valve through a tube in the artery is less invasive than conventional surgery and showed similar survival rates to conventional surgery, but also raised the risk of stroke and other major heart complications.
The research was part of the multi-year PARTNER study, the world's first randomised trial comparing the two methods, and was showcased at the American College of Cardiology conference in New Orleans.
"The progress has been quite dramatic over several years," said Craig Smith, chair of the Columbia University College of Physicians and co-principal investigator on the study.
Biggest step in our lifetime
The method lowered costs involved with rehospitalisation in frail, elderly patients and was found to increase life expectancy by as much as 1.9 years, said the research.
The process is already being done in Europe but has yet to gain Food and Drug Administration approval in the United States, where the valve is considered an investigational device.
"This probably will be seen as one of the biggest steps in cardiovascular medicine, as far as intervention is concerned, potentially in our lifetime," said Moliterno, who was not involved in the study.
After balloon angioplasty and the invention of stents, "this will be seen as the next major turning point," he said.
valve replacement
I have one of the metal valves in my heart. When the doctor told me that was needed I asked why the metal and not a tissue valve. (I called it a pig valve and was quickly corrected.)
Tissue valves have to be replaced every ten years as they wear out .. metal is forever. In fact, the company that made it, meditronc, still remains the owner and hopes to recover it when I am dead and gone.