The Hospitals of Providence Sierra Campus Selected as Trial Site for Revolutionary Heart Procedure

Transcatheter Aortic Valve replacement (TAVR) provides hope for severe aortic stenosis patients

El Paso, TX — The Hospitals of Providence Sierra Campus has been selected to participate in the Edward Lifesciences PARTNER 3 Low Risk Trial for Transcatheter Aortic Valve replacement (TAVR). As a participant, the Sierra Campus will be the first in the region to offer this procedure to low risk cardiac patients with severe aortic valve stenosis as a less invasive alternative for aortic valve repair.

TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure to replace the aortic heart valve without the need for cardiopulmonary bypass. The Sierra Campus’ role is specifically designed to ensure that underrepresented populations are included in this nation-wide study.

“Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the United States, killing more people every year than all forms of cancer combined,” said Nicholas Tejeda, Market Chief Executive Officer for The Hospitals of Providence. “Our goal is to bring new medical advancements to our community, such as the TAVR procedure, which could offer better outcomes for our most high-risk patients.”

TAVR is designed to replace a patient’s diseased native aortic valve without traditional open-heart surgery and while the heart continues to beat. This avoids the need to stop the patient’s heart and connect him or her to a heart-lung machine, which temporarily takes over the function of the heart and the patient’s breathing during surgery (cardiopulmonary bypass).

“I am very proud to be part of the team to bring this exciting technology to Sierra Campus,” said Dr. Venkatachalam Mulukutla, Cardiologist. “I believe that transcatheter valve replacement is one of the greatest technological breakthroughs in the modern medical era, and I am looking forward to participating in this trial to further advance cardiology treatments for patients in this region.”

Severe aortic stenosis is a very serious heart condition. Many patients are not treated because they are deemed inoperable for surgery, have not received a definitive diagnosis or because they delay or decline the procedure for a variety of reasons. Patients who do not receive an aortic valve replacement (AVR) have no effective, long-term treatment option to prevent or delay their disease progression. Without it, severe symptomatic aortic stenosis is life-threatening – studies indicate that 50 percent of patients will not survive more than an average of two years after the onset of symptoms.