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Showing posts from March, 2020

Facts About Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease

The aortic valve is a one-way valve between the heart and the aorta, regulating blood flow from the heart into the aorta. It is the main artery from the ticker/the major blood vessel that distributes oxygen-rich blood to the body, and also prevents the blood from flowing back from the aorta into the ticker when the pumping chamber relaxes. Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease (BAVD) is one of the most common congenital heart conditions that can go unrecognized for years without incident. Surgery is the only fix once it starts to cause problems. Normally, the aortic valve has three small flaps or leaflets that open widely and close securely to send oxygenated blood on a one-way route from the heart to the aorta. But in bicuspid aortic valve disease (BAVD), the valve has only two leaflets, which can cause life-threatening problems. This congenital heart condition affects about 1-2 percent of the population, and it is twice as likely to develop in men, might go unrecognized for years i...

Revascularization As An Option For High-Risk Cardiac Patients

Procedures, such as cardiac bypass surgery can hugely benefit heart disease patients by opening blocked arteries and improving blood flow through the heart. Unfortunately, some patients are considered too “high risk” for such measures, and there are few alternatives to mitigate their symptoms. This is where cardiac revascularization comes into play. Risk of having a heart attack increases when coronary artery disease has narrowed one of your arteries by 70 percent. Selecting the best revascularization procedure is essential. Doctors recommend percutaenous coronary intervention, or PCI (a minimally invasive procedure to open arteries by threading a catheter through the leg and into the heart to open blockage with a balloon-like device or by deploying a stent in the artery) if there is one or two lesions threatening to cause a heart attack, whereas coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is advised in case severe atherosclerosis was present throughout the left anterior descending ...