White Plains Hospital launches new heart program

White Plains Hospital has launched a new heart program that includes offering an advanced heart aortic valve replacement procedure. The hospital is a member of the Montefiore Health System and the new program is known as the Montefiore Structural Heart Program at White Plains Hospital.

In announcing the launch of the program, White Plains Hospital said that it had completed its first three minimally invasive heart aortic valve replacement procedures, known as Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacements (TAVR).

Rather than requiring a major incision and open heart surgery to replace a patient’s diseased aortic valve, the TAVR procedure allows a specially-designed replacement valve to be implanted using a catheter that is put into a blood vessel through a small hole in the groin and guided to the heart.

Sophisticated imaging equipment allows the surgeon to see where the catheter is and to safely guide it to the location of the aortic valve. Once the new valve is positioned and secured in place the catheter is removed. The patient has a faster and easier recovery than with traditional heart surgery.

The TAVR procedures at White Plains were performed by Dr. Azeem Latib, director of the Montefiore Structural Heart Program at White Plains Hospital. White Plains Hospital has state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratories, which are used for TAVR and other cardiac procedures.

According to White Plains Hospital, more than five million Americans are diagnosed with heart valve disease each year, including 1.5 million with aortic stenosis, which is a narrowing of the heart’s aortic valve. This condition often appears in those 65 and older and can become worse with age.

The hospital said that the addition of the Montefiore Structural Heart Program at White Plains Hospital builds on the success of a cardiac surgery program at the hospital, which had its launch about two years ago. The program was recently recognized with The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ 3-star rating, its highest rating that places it among the top 10% of programs for heart bypass surgery in the U. S. and Canada.

“This program underscores White Plains Hospital’s commitment to growing its advanced cardiac services for patients across the Hudson Valley,” said Latib. “These expanded capabilities allow us to provide the most appropriate treatment based on our patients’ needs, whether they require open-heart surgery or a minimally invasive procedure like a TAVR. We are excited to begin performing these procedures and look forward to continuing to advance the Montefiore Structural Heart Program at White Plains Hospital.”