Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)

For patients at risk, hope in four letters: TAVR

The Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement option

For most patients, open-heart surgery is the preferred method of aortic valve repair. But for some older patients or those at high risk, there’s a method that can provide hope for longer and healthier life.

The VCU Medical Center is one of the few hospitals in Central Virginia to offer Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) for higher risk patients with severe aortic stenosis. This minimally invasive procedure is meant for patients with multiple illnesses who cannot undergo open-heart surgery. Before TAVR, these patients had few treatment options.

About the Procedure

The TAVR procedure involves using a catheter to thread the replacement valve from a blood vessel in your leg to your heart’s diseased aortic valve. The malfunctioning valve is ballooned open and your new valve (about the diameter of a quarter) is anchored in place, leaving you with a smoothly operating valve that delivers better blood flow from your heart to the rest of your body. For more about TAVR, watch the video below.

To talk to someone at the VCU Heart Valve Center and learn more about TAVR, call (804) 628-4327.

Patients are now being evaluated in the VCU Health Pauley Heart Valve Center currently located in the third floor of the Ambulatory Care Center, 417 N. 11th Street, on the MCV Campus in downtown Richmond.

To discuss any potential candidates or schedule an outpatient referral, call (804) 628-4327.