Health Watch: 10 years of TAVR; The life-changing heart procedure keeping Alaskans strong

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - David Dean never thought much about his heart, until simple tasks left him out of breath.

“I experienced a fair amount of fatigue, pressure on the chest, shortness of breath. The traditional things that outline a heart problem,” Dean said.

Doctors confirmed his aortic valve had dangerously narrowed, making his heart work overtime.

The solution? TAVR, or Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, a procedure Providence Alaska Medical Center introduced to patients 10 years ago and remains the only facility in the state offering it.

Dean did his research, and the decision was easy.

“The documentation provided by the Heart Institute shows a very straightforward procedure, minimal downtime afterwards, and it works,” he said. “That’s the key.”

By his side, Cardiologist Dr. Stan Watkins explained how it all happens.

“It’s a stent, basically, that’s crimped onto a balloon, put onto over a wire, in through the leg, up to the heart, through the aortic valve, and while the heart’s still beating, we can inflate this balloon, which pushes the old valve out of the way,” Dr. Watkins explained. “And deploys the new valve in place.”

The entire process takes less than 30 minutes — a far cry from the weeks or months of recovery after open-heart surgery.

As Dean was wheeled into the operating room, his new heart valve was just minutes away. Monitors showed the moment of transformation. Dean’s new valve was locked into place, restoring blood flow instantly.

“What we look for in this picture, particularly, is leaking around the valve, back into the pump and we don’t see any leak at all, which is what we want to see,” Watkins explained as he pointed to a monitor.

For many patients, TAVR is now so advanced that it can be done while they are completely awake, with no general anesthesia.

“He’s going to go back and get a heart valve put in, and then he’s going to have lunch,” Watkins joked.

Most TAVR patients go home the next day and fully recover within a week.

It’s the result of a decade of innovation, hundreds of Alaskans treated, and for Dean, a heart that’s finally back on track.

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