Newswise — Los Angeles (December 20, 2021) --"The approval of this novel device for congenital heart disease patients with severe pulmonary regurgitation expands the population we can treat from about 15 percent to roughly 90 percent of patients," said Zahn. "In addition to this remarkable expansion, the procedure is met with minimal complications, limited side effects and quick recovery times."
Zahn has published more than 100 contributions in peer-reviewed medical journals including The Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Circulation. He also serves on editorial boards of leading speciality journals including the Catheter and Cardiovascular Interventions.
WHAT:
The device, the Alterra adaptive present was approved today by the Food and Drug Administration for some congenital heart disease patients who have severe pulmonary regurgitation. The approval will expand minimally invasive therapy options for many patients born with heart valve malformations.
Severe pulmonary regurgitation happens when there is a leak in the pulmonary valve-one of the four valves in the heart. When leaky, the pulmonary valve allows blood to flow back into the heart before it goes to the lungs for oxygen, resulting in right-sided heart failure and other serious complications.
The Alterra present is used with the Edwards Lifesciences SAPIEN 3 transcatheter valve. The Alterra prestent compensates for variations in size and morphology of the right ventricular outflow tract to provide a stable landing zone for the SAPIEN 3 valve.
WHY:
Unlike children's hospitals and other congenital heart programs that only care for patients from birth through adolescence, the Guerin Family Congenital Heart Program treats patients throughout their lives.
"Our patients receive care for their entire lifetime, by a singular multidisciplinary team that has literally known them their entire lives," said Zahn. "The expansion of this device will allow us to serve even more patients and impact even more lives."
WHERE:
Cedars-Sinai can accommodate most virtual interview formats, including Zoom, FaceTime and Skype.
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