Heart disease: Minimally invasive treatment of leaky mitral valves now a reality in India

Cardiac ailments affect more people than any other non-communicable disease in India. According to a study by The Lancet, cardiovascular diseases caused 28 per cent of deaths in 2016, which was double the numbers reported in 1990 when it caused 15 per cent of deaths in the country – from 1.3 million in 1990 to 2.8 million in 2016. Heart disease is a blanket term for several kinds of heart conditions. Of them, mitral regurgitation (MR), is the most common heart valve problem. The mitral valve is located between the heart’s two left chambers. It has two flaps of tissue, called leaflets, that open and close to ensure that blood flows in only one direction. When the mitral valve fails to close completely, blood leaks backward inside the heart, causing MR. About 1 in 10 people age 75 and older have MR.

Against this backdrop, Abbott, the global healthcare company, has launched its clip delivery system, a minimally invasive heart valve repair device to treat mitral regurgitation in India. This product puts new technology into the hands of physicians by giving them a life-saving treatment option that may be used for people suffering from mitral regurgitation due to a heart defect or as a result of heart failure.

Repairing leaky mitral valves

This clip device repairs leaky mitral valves without open-heart surgery and is delivered to the heart through a vein in the leg. The device clips portions of the leaflets, or flaps, of the mitral valve together to reduce the backflow of blood, thereby restoring the heart’s ability to pump oxygenated blood more efficiently. This is the first and only transcatheter mitral valve therapy with proven safety and survival, and durability of clinical outcomes.

Dr. Sai Satish, Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, India, and practicing interventional cardiologist and Director Structural Heart (International) Gottsegen Institute of Cardiology, Budapest, Hungary, said, “This is truly a significant approval for a device that has already helped tens of thousands of people around the world. Physicians in India now have another option to treat advanced heart failure patients.”

Non-surgical treatment option

Explaining the need for such technology, Dr. Sai who pioneered this treatment in India added, “Increasing life expectancy, higher incidence of hypertension, obesity and diabetes, all contribute to the staggering prevalence of about 4.6 million patients with heart failure in India alone. These patients have a poor quality of life and high mortality. Not all patients with a leaky mitral valve are suitable for open-heart surgery due to advanced age or other co-morbidities. Till now there was little we could do for them. This procedure is a non-surgical treatment option for these patients which has been proven to dramatically reduce symptoms and improve not just their quality of life, but also survival.”

Safe and effective

Dr. Ravinder Singh Rao, Director, TAVI and Structural Heart Disease Program, Consultant Interventional Structural Cardiologist, Eternal Hospital, Jaipur said, “Mitral regurgitation with poor left ventricular function carries a poor prognosis. Medicines alone cannot cure this mechanical problem, and only help the heart tolerate it better. Open heart surgeries have risks for some patients.” Talking about two recent procedures that he performed, Dr. Rao added, “I used the clip technology on two patients last week. One was a 56-year-old woman with poor LV function and severe mitral regurgitation, while the second patient was a 72-year-old doctor who had poor LV function and MR. He had in fact had a heart attack in the past. Post procedure both patients are better, and we could confirm leakage reduction on the transesophageal echocardiogram. The procedure is safe and effective. Medical innovations such as these give our patients better odds at long-term survival and improved quality of life.”

Symptoms of MR

MR causes symptoms such as cough, fatigue, decrease in appetite, shortness of breath, fainting and accumulation of fluid in feet, ankles or lungs. The condition places an extra burden on the heart and lungs. Over time, some people may develop an enlarged heart because it has to work harder to pump blood through the body. If it is not treated, MR can cause other, more serious problems to the heart, such as heart failure, a condition that occurs when your heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body.

Source: | This article originally belongs to thehealthsite.com

Heart disease: Minimally invasive treatment of leaky mitral valves now a reality in India

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Heart disease: Minimally invasive treatment of leaky mitral valves now a reality in India

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