FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM NOVEMBER 5, 2020 • HEALTH • THE QUEENS COURIER 35 
  
  
 TAVR  procedure  as  a  major  
 step forward in the care for patients  
 with aortic stenosis, one  
 that is now more accessible to  
 area residents. “We are excited  
 to be making this effective and  
 lifesaving  procedure  more  
 convenient  and  accessible  for  
 patients  who  live  in  Queens,  
 home to more than 2 million  
 people.” 
 Aortic valve stenosis and  
 TAVR: a closer look 
 The heart has four valves—  
 one for each chamber of the  
 heart. The valves keep blood  
 moving through the heart in  
 the right direction. When the  
 aortic valve narrows (stenosis),  
 it  cannot  open  fully,  thereby  
 reducing and blocking blood  
 flow from the heart to the rest  
 of the body. In turn, the heart  
 needs to work harder to pump  
 blood,  leading  to  a  weakened  
 heart muscle and an increased  
 risk of heart failure.  
 Using TAVR, a prosthetic  
 valve is delivered to the heart  
 with  a  catheter  guided  by  a  
 special type of x-ray. The prosthetic  
 valve is carefully positioned  
 inside the patient’s  
 own valve and expanded. The  
 diseased  portion  is  pushed  
 aside and replaced with the  
 new valve, which will immediately  
 begin to function. Patients  
 who undergo TAVR experience  
 less downtime, faster  
 recovery and, often, a  shorter  
 hospital stay than those undergoing  
 open-heart surgery.  
 There is no surgical wound  
 beyond small puncture marks  
 where the surgeon inserts the  
 catheter. 
 World-class cardiac  
 care…closer to home 
 Medicine has come a long  
 way  in  the  treatment  of  the  
 many  conditions  that  can  affect  
 the  heart,  making  for  
 longer, healthier lives for  
 many people. NYP Queens  
 is able to bring TAVR and  
 other advanced heart treatments  
 directly to the Queens  
 community making NewYork- 
 Presbyterian Queens the most  
 comprehensive heart program  
 in the borough. 
 “Innovations in cardiology  
 have broadened the horizons  
 of how we can treat patients  
 with  valvular  and  structural  
 heart disease with minimally  
 invasive techniques,” says Dr.  
 Minutello.  “The  team  at New- 
 York-Presbyterian  Queens  is  
 committed to advancing these  
 technologies to provide better  
 treatments for our patients.” 
 For more information about  
 the Heart Valve Center at New- 
 York-Presbyterian Queens,  
 please call 718-670-2485. 
 To see Dr. Minutello’s webinar  
 “TAVR Heart Valve Replacement: 
   Are You a Candidate?” go to  
 https://youtu.be/74CzNpZSqMA 
 Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans 
 Attend a virtual no-cost seminar 
 Health plan options for those with: 
 • Medicare 
 • Medicare and Medicaid 
 • A Medicaid Advantage Plus (MAP) Plan for 
 those who need community based long term 
 care services and supports in the home 
 Call today to register or speak  
 with a licensed insurance agent 
 718-696-0206 
 TTY/TDD 800-662-1220 
 events@agewellnewyork.com 
 agewellnewyork.com/virtual-seminar 
 here  is  no  disputing  it:  
 the heart is the most important  
 organ in the entire  
 human body. Simple in its  
 function but powerful in its effects, 
  the heart pumps blood  
 throughout  the  body  and  sustains  
 all other bodily systems.  
 Any disruption in its function  
 can mean the difference between  
 life and death. 
 At the forefront of cardiac  
 treatment is the Heart Valve  
 Center at NewYork-Presbyterian  
 Queens,  which  is  dedicated  
 to evaluating and providing  
 new  techniques  for  
 repairing and replacing coronary  
 valves. One such procedure  
 is Transcatheter Aortic  
 Valve Replacement (TAVR), a  
 minimally invasive procedure  
 to replace a narrowed aortic  
 valve that fails to open properly  
 (aortic valve stenosis).  
 Originally  TAVR  was  performed  
 in  only  high  surgical  
 risk patients. However, recent  
 data has shown benefit  
 of  TAVR  in  nearly  all  groups  
 of  patients  with  severe  aortic  
 stenosis,  regardless  of  risk  or  
 age.  In 2019, researchers found  
 TAVR  to  have  significantly  
 lower rates of death, stroke,  
 or hospitalization in low- risk  
 patients  as  compared  to  open  
 heart surgery. 
 The Heart Valve Center:  
 the only facility in Queens  
 to offer TAVR 
 The interventional cardiologists  
 and  cardiac  surgeons  
 practicing at NewYork-Presbyterian  
 have been and continue  
 to serve as principal investigators  
 in landmark trials related  
 to  TAVR  therapies,  including  
 multicenter studies for aortic  
 and mitral valve disease.  
 In fact, NYP physicians were  
 the principal investigators of  
 the national clinical trials for  
 TAVR. 
 Now, under the direction  
 of Dr. Robert Minutello, an interventional  
 cardiologist with  
 a long history at NewYork- 
 Presbyterian  and  Weill  Cornell  
 Medicine, and director of  
 the Heart Valve Center at NYP  
 Queens, TAVR has been added  
 to the many services available  
 through the center. He sees the  
 They count on you... 
 So count on us  
 to keep you going. 
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