Diagnosing & Treating Aortic Stenosis

Did you know the largest blood vessel in our body is the Aorta. The aorta's job is to transport oxygenated blood from our heart to the rest of the body. And within our Aorta are some very special valves called Aortic valves that help to send our blood in the right direction. Valves are the much needed traffic controllers of blood directing it to where it needs to go. Unfortuately, we often take these parts of our body for granted until sadly they are not functioning properly and as we age so too are our heart valves! Our heart valves work quietly pumping blood in the right direction around our heart and body without any fuss. But without their hard work and dedication to task we just cannot survive. Unfortuately though in an aging population our heart valves can become calcified and over time suffer wear and tear. Also, people can be born with heart valves which do not function optimally. Aortic stenosis is one of the most common and most serious valve disease that people can suffer. So I spoke with cardiologist Dr Eric Yamen about this condition and what is new in terms of treatment for this debilitating heart condition. A big thank you to Dr Eric Yamen for giving his time to chat to MediTalkPodcast and sharing his knowledge on Aortic Stenosis and letting us know about a new procedure called TAVI (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) which is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that repairs the valve and for suitable patients this procedure can be life changing. To learn more about Dr Eric Yamen and TAVI visit: www.sjog.org.au/our-locations/st-john-of-god-subiaco-hospital/news/news/2019/04/29/01/59/continuity-of-care-for-tavi-patients-at-subiaco Dr Eric Yamen www.sjog.org.au/find-a-doctor/search-results/y/a/m/e/yamen-ericsimon-subiaco Additional Heart Information Resources: The Heart Foundation: www.heartfoundation.org.au American Heart Association www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-valve-problems-and-disease/heart-valve-problems-and-causes/problem-aortic-valve-stenosis Thank you for listening and supporting MediTalkPodcast www.meditalk.com.au If you have found this podcast episode of help please share with others and if you could take a minute to write a quick review of this podcast would be a great help! Please if you have questions or are concerned about your health it is always best to speak with a medical practitioner. Well and kind wishes, D :-)