Heart Valve Health: How Beacon Kalamazoo Can Treat Aortic Stenosis

You've been slowing down a little. Stairs feel harder. A walk around the block leaves you short of breath. You've told yourself it's just getting older.

It might be your heart valve, and it can be fixed.

Aortic stenosis is a condition where the heart's main valve gradually stiffens and narrows. When that happens, the heart has to work much harder just to do its job. Shortness of breath with activity, chest tightness or pressure, dizziness during exertion, unusual fatigue and swelling in the legs are all warning signs. These symptoms often sneak up gradually and get mistaken for normal aging.

The good news is there is an effective, minimally invasive treatment available right here in southwest Michigan.

Dr. Jagadesh Kalavakunta, interventional cardiologist at Beacon Kalamazoo, specializes in TAVR — transcatheter aortic valve replacement — a procedure that has transformed how aortic stenosis is treated. Rather than open-heart surgery with a large incision and a long recovery, TAVR replaces the valve through a small tube, usually through an artery in the leg.

Most patients are up and walking the same day, home in a day or two, and back to their routine quickly. Beacon Kalamazoo's TAVR program has more than a decade of experience and has completed about 1,000 cases.

If everyday activities are starting to feel harder than they used to, a simple heart ultrasound called an echocardiogram can give you answers. Heart valve disease doesn't have to steal your quality of life. Get checked, ask the question and know that today's treatments can help people live longer and more actively.

To learn more about TAVR and advanced cardiovascular care at Beacon Kalamazoo, visit BeaconHealthSystem.org or ask your doctor about a referral.

Here's a look at how the TAVR program helped Kelly: