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Cardiologist Performs Innovative Mitral Valve Repair at Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute-Texas Medical Center
                                                      
HOUSTON, Dec. 21, 2005 – A cardiologist practicing at Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute-Texas Medical Center and his team achieved a Houston first by using a minimally invasive approach to repair a mitral heart valve as part of a feasibility clinical study.

Richard Smalling, M.D., J. Brent Sterling Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, recently repaired a patient’s mitral valve by clipping its two leaflets together using a small clip known as the MitraClip™ device.  To deliver and deploy the MitraClip™, Dr. Smalling made a small puncture in the groin and threaded a catheter, or tube, through the femoral vein to the heart.

“Typically, surgery is the only option for patients with significant mitral regurgitation. While medication can address some of the symptoms, it can’t treat the underlying physiological problem,” Dr. Smalling said. “With this new approach, we hope to give patients an effective, minimally invasive option that may also speed recovery.”

The mitral valve is a one-way, blood flow regulator that separates the left atrium (the heart chamber that collects blood from the lungs) from the left ventricle (the chamber that pumps blood out to the body). Mitral regurgitation (MR) occurs when the leaflets or “swinging doors" of the mitral valve do not close properly. This causes back flow of blood into the left atrium, which leads to reduced cardiac output. The heart must pump harder to compensate. If left untreated, the resulting damage can lead to congestive heart failure.

MR, a progressive disorder, affects about 4 million people in the United States, with about 250,000 new diagnoses each year. About 50,000 patients undergo open heart surgery annually.

Symptoms of MR include shortness of breath, fatigue, fainting, weight gain from fluid retention, decreased appetite, fluid accumulation in the lungs, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, a dry cough, and swelling of the feet, ankles or abdomen.

Currently, patients can only be candidates for the MitraClip procedure by participating in the clinical study.  Those interested in learning more should talk to their doctors or call 713-500-5219.

Recently reported data showed that out of 47 patients treated through this procedure at various centers, only 4 percent of patients experienced significant adverse events at 30 days post procedure. The procedure prevented invasive open heart surgery in 75 percent of patients.

The MitraClip device was developed and manufactured by Evalve Inc., Menlo Park, CA.

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