Beating heart valve disease starts with raising awareness

My maternal grandfather, Ben Melnick, was a World War II veteran from Pittsburgh, who volunteered in his community and enjoyed spending time with his family —including 14 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He was one of the best people I have ever known. He died in 2006, about three months after open-heart surgery for aortic stenosis — a type of heart valve disease.

As many as five million Americans are estimated to have heart valve disease (HVD), which occurs if one or more of your heart valves don’t work properly. Valve defects can be there at birth or develop from damage later in life. When valve damage reduces blood flow, the heart has to work harder and the body gets less oxygen. This can lead to a number of symptoms, including shortness of breath, weakness or dizziness, pain or discomfort in the chest, and a swollen abdomen or ankles and feet.

However, people with HVD do not always have symptoms, even if their disease is severe. For these people, a heart murmur is the most important clue, although follow-up testing with electrocardiogram (EKG), echocardiogram (ECG), cardiac catheterization, and additional tests may be needed.

Heart valve disease can lead to serious complications, including death. Each year, at least 22,000 Americans die from HVD — an estimated 60 people a day. Older adults age 75 and over and people who have had a previous heart condition are especially vulnerable to HVD.

The good news is that, since 2006, there have been some truly significant advances in heart valve replacement that are now moving quickly toward widespread availability. In 2011, the FDA approved a procedure to treat heart valve disease without a major surgical operation known as TAVR, or transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

With TAVR, a catheter, which is a small hollow tube, is placed in the deep artery of the thigh and is guided into the heart chambers using advanced imaging techniques. Through this catheter, a tissue heart valve is guided into position and placed directly inside the diseased aortic valve. Once the new valve is correctly positioned, a balloon is inflated to deploy the valve, without opening the patient’s chest.

This approach was initially an important advance for patients who needed an aortic valve replacement, but were too ill or frail to withstand an open-chest surgery. Over time, however, the success of the TAVR technology has been demonstrated, and it is now being studied in lower-risk patients. Studies comparing TAVR to open-heart surgical replacement found similar rates of survival, but those who underwent TAVR experienced shorter hospital stays and lower incidence of some major complications.

Despite this significant medical advance, public awareness about heart valve disease is still alarmingly low. A recent Alliance for Aging Research survey found that three in four people know little to nothing about the disease.

It is for this reason that 21 national organizations have joined together to establish the first-ever National Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day on Feb. 22.

The four messages of the day are simple: Listen to Your Body, Know Your Risk Factors, Get Your Heart Checked Regularly, and Spread the Word and Raise Awareness. To get moving on the last action right away, visit www.ValveDiseaseDay.org.

I don’t know whether TAVR would have given my grandfather more time with us. What I do know is that treatment breakthroughs offer new hope to patients and families. If I can help raise awareness about heart valve disease and that leads to more people getting the care they need, then I honor his memory in a most significant way.

As many as five million Americans are estimated to have heart valve disease.