Older people at risk of heart failure are enjoying a new lease of life after a pioneering treatment that sees them leave hospital after just two days.
Without surgery, severe symptomatic aortic stenosis is associated with a poor prognosis, with most patients dying 2–3 years after diagnosis.
It occurs when the heart’s aortic valve narrows, which reduces or blocks blood flow from the heart into the aorta and to the rest of your body.
Open heart surgery to replace the valve is generally the preferred treatment but may be too risky for older people or those with other health conditions.
However, a relatively new treatment - transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) - has revolutionised treatment of the condition among patients with an average age of 82.
TAVI is a less invasive alternative and involves passing a catheter through a large blood vessel, into the heart, usually through the groin.A balloon is then inflated to open up the aortic valve.
The procedure helps reduce symptoms including shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness and fainting, as well as significantly reducing the risk of heart failure and death.
It was introduced at the Golden Jubilee hospital four years ago and since then 500 patients have been successfully treated with around four procedures carried out each week on patients across the West of Scotland.
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They include Nancy Dick, a retired secretary from Cambuslang, who will celebrate her 85th birthday this month and had the procedure three years ago.
She had been experiencing breathlessness and tests revealed she had a heart murmur. Doctors told her, “the next step was heart failure”.
She said: “ I got the call to go in on the Monday, I got the operation on the Tuesday and I was home on Thursday.
“Like everyone else I was concerned but the staff, right from the beginning when I was admitted the night before...they were very, very good.
“They highlighted the negatives and the positives and explained everything, what could happen and I said, ‘we’ll go for it’.
“I would say to anyone, don’t be frightened because anybody that goes to the Golden Jubilee will be well taken care of.
“My husband took dementia and was in a home for four years. During that four years I was going every single day in all weathers and I remember there was a small incline and my son noticed I was getting very breathless.
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“The doctor at Glasgow Royal Infirmary had said to me, the next step was heart failure.
“I’m doing great now, I’ve had my 4th booster, I have my family around me, I have 4 grandchildren and my first great grandchild, Rose, was born on Robert Burn’s Day, so it has all been worth it.
“I’m going to be 85 on April 28 and I’m doing very well.
She added: “Obviously with age, I’m a bit slower with the walking, my legs are sore but other than that at 85 I am not complaining.
NHS Golden Jubilee Consultant Cardiologist and Clinical Director Mitchell Lindsay said: “So far the service has been very successful and we are delighted with the positive outcomes for our patients.
“The service is growing very rapidly as clinical practice across the world changes in this field. Very high quality clinical trials demonstrate that TAVI is a very good alternative to conventional open heart surgery in many patients.
“Despite the average age of our patients being 82-years-old, the non-invasive nature of this procedure means the length of stay is only 2-3 days.”
Professor Hany Eteiba, Associate Medical Director for Regional and National Medicine Cardiothoracic, added: “Every life is precious and TAVI is helping keep families and loved ones together by prolonging lives and helping people when surgery is unfortunately not an option.”
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