The Hospital Particular do Algarve, in Alvor, has just performed the first percutaneous implant of the aortic valve, a minimally invasive procedure that allows valve replacement without the need for heart surgery.
This innovative technique for the treatment of aortic stenosis is characterized by the implantation of the valve through catheterization, through small incisions in the groin, which do not exceed 8 millimeters.
Through the patient's own circulation, the cardiologist is able to place a valve prosthesis in the location of the one that was clogged, thus resuming the normal functioning of the heart. The procedure takes about an hour and a half and can be done almost without anesthesia, without the need to open the rib cage and with a recovery in just two weeks.
In Portugal, this procedure is already performed in four hospitals, and the Hospital Particular do Algarve is the first private unit to provide the technique.
“We are very excited to initiate this technique and to make this innovative approach to the treatment of aortic stenosis available to our patients. Percutaneous treatment is one of the most important innovations in cardiology, as it allows for faster recovery and makes it possible to treat many people who suffer from severe aortic stenosis and who were not eligible for surgery due to its high risk", says João Bacalhau, Chairman of the Board of Administration of the Hospital Particular do Algarve.
João Bacalhau also stresses that “one in every 15 Portuguese people over 80 years old suffers from aortic stenosis, a disease that kills more people, and faster, than cancer”.
Worldwide, nearly 300 people have been diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis and approximately one-third of these patients are considered to be at high risk or ineligible for open-heart surgery.
Percutaneous valve replacement is the only minimally invasive and clinically effective alternative therapy for symptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis who are in these conditions.
What is severe aortic stenosis
Severe aortic stenosis is a disease characterized by tightness of the aortic valve, whose function is to prevent the blood pumped by the heart from going back.
When there is this strangulation, the blood passes with difficulty, causing fatigue, chest pain and fainting. The improvements produced by the drugs are limited and do not prevent the more serious complications caused by cardiac exhaustion, which, after the first symptoms and in severe cramps, leads to the death of half of the patients in the first year.
About the Algarve Private Hospital, Alvor
The Hospital Particular do Algarve covers several areas and specificities of health and offers the population a differentiated and permanent service 24 hours a day, made up of a qualified clinical staff. The hospital unit also has modern, well-prepared and technologically advanced facilities.
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