Structural Heart Program

The Structural Heart Program at Palm Beach Health Network provides advanced, team-based care for aortic valve conditions. Experienced physicians and allied healthcare professionals collaborate to evaluate, test and create personalized treatment plans, often within one day, using options in the clinic, catheterization lab or operating room for efficient, coordinated care.

Structural Heart Disease

The heart has four valves with tissue flaps that open and close with every heartbeat. These flaps act as a roadmap for the heart, guiding blood flow in the right direction via its four chambers throughout the body. Structural heart disease refers to conditions that affect the heart's valves, walls, chambers or muscles. When these problems occur, our dedicated team of heart doctors is here to help you at Palm Beach Health Network's Structural Heart Program.

Types of Structural Heart Disease

The main types of structural heart disease are:

• Heart Valve Disease - A problem with any of the four valves that open and close to control blood flow.
• Cardiomyopathy - A disease involving the heart muscle.
• Congenital Heart Disease - Structural heart problems that a person has at birth.

Structural Heart Treatments

The Structural Heart Program encompasses interventional technology and the latest structural heart innovations. The variety of minimally invasive treatment options gives patients a wide range of personalized choices, enabling them to make informed decisions based on their specific diagnosis. Our interventional cardiologists offer innovative structural heart treatments, including:

• Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR): A minimally invasive surgical procedure repairs the valve without removing the old, damaged valve. Instead, a replacement valve sits into the aortic valve’s place.
  

• Mitral Valve Treatments: If you have mitral valve disease, including mitral regurgitation, your physician may recommend a minimally invasive treatment option based on your specific condition and overall health. These advanced procedures are designed to improve how the mitral valve functions, restore healthy blood flow through the heart, and help relieve symptoms. Depending on your needs, treatment options may include valve repair, valve replacement, or other catheter-based therapies that can often be performed without open-heart surgery.
• Left Atrium Appendage Closure: Uses some of the latest device innovative implant devices to reduce your risk of stroke. The Left Atrium Appendage Closure implant is designed to act as a barrier, preventing left atrial appendage blood clots from entering the bloodstream and blocking a blood vessel. With the advancements of implant devices, patients may be able to discontinue their use of long-term blood thinner medications.

Additional structural heart treatments include:

• Atrial Septal Defects (ASD)/Patient Foramen Ovale (PFO) Closure
• Balloon Valvuloplasty
• PVL Closure - Transcatheter Paravalvular Leak Closure
• Right and Left Sided Percutaneous Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)
• Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Therapies, including TriClip™, EVOQUE™, TricValve®, and other advanced tricuspid repair and replacement procedures

Heart Valve Clinic

Your heart deserves quality care, and our board certified physicians at the Palm Beach Health Network are specially trained to perform valve procedures to replace or repair the aortic valve. Our specialized hear team approach speeds up the process of evaluating the problem from weeks or months down to just one day. 

Our Valve Clinics enable collaborative care across the Palm Beach Health Network. First, you will receive an evaluation by the cardiovascular surgeon where you’ll review together your prior diagnostic studies. If there is any additional testing required, such as an echocardiogram or CT scan, they will be ordered and completed quickly. 

Once all testing has been performed, your doctors will take your individual results of all testing and work together to determine the most effective approach for your care. We promise to work closely with your personal cardiologist to ensure a smooth transition back into their care once your treatment with us is over.