Valve Repair & Replacement

Structural heart disease is any type of medical condition that impacts your heart’s valves, muscles, walls or other supporting structures. Common types of structural heart disease include aortic valve stenosis and mitral valve prolapse.

If you have any medical conditions that affect your heart’s valves or structures, the heart specialists at CHI Saint Joseph Health can help. We provide a full range of services for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of structural heart and valve conditions – including minimally invasive repair and replacement techniques for less pain and faster recovery.

To make an appointment, call 859.313.2255 or find a board-certified heart surgeon anytime online.

If you have structural heart disease, you’re in the right place. CHI Saint Joseph Health has put together the first four-person physician team in the state. The Structural Heart Team at Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington consists of two cardiologists and two cardiothoracic surgeons, who combine their specialized skills to provide the best possible care and outcomes.

Aortic stenosis is a condition that affects the aorta, the main artery through which blood flows from your heart to the rest of your body. The aortic valve must open fully to allow blood to flow and then must close to prevent blood from flowing back into your heart. When your aortic valve narrows (a condition known as stenosis) less blood flows through it, causing your heart to work harder to pump blood. A serious condition, aortic stenosis can lead to chest pain, dizziness, fatigue and even death.

One of the innovative techniques we use to treat this condition is transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR), bringing new hope to those living with severe aortic stenosis and considered too high risk for open heart surgery. During the TAVR procedure, members of our Structural Heart Team work together to implant a replacement valve in your heart via a catheter inserted into your leg or chest. Recovery time is much quicker with TAVR than with open surgery; most patients undergoing TAVR receive their new valve one day and go home the next.

All TAVR procedures are completed in the hybrid operating room at Saint Joseph Hospital, where our team has access to diagnostic and imaging equipment, advanced robotics and state-of-the-art operating equipment.

Your mitral valve regulates blood flow between the two chambers on the left side of your heart. A healthy mitral valve allows blood to flow only in one direction. However, when the mitral valve and structures within it called flaps become diseased, blood can flow in the wrong direction, which can damage your heart muscle.

One option for patients with mitral valve conditions is MitraClip therapy, a minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgery. The MitraClip is a small metal clip that helps patients with mitral regurgitation, a condition in which the heart’s mitral valve flaps do not close tightly, causing blood to leak into the heart’s left atrium. Mitral regurgitation can lead to advanced heart failure.

MitraClip therapy increases treatment options for selected patients with MR, especially those who are not good candidates for invasive open-heart surgery. This procedure allows our Structural Heart Team to use catheter-based technology, which reduces risks and speeds up post-procedure recovery time. 

Find skilled heart and vascular care at any of our convenient Lexington and central Kentucky-area locations:

• Flaget Memorial Hospital—Bardstown
• Saint Joseph Berea
• Saint Joseph East—Lexington
• Saint Joseph Hospital—Lexington
• Saint Joseph London
• Saint Joseph Mount Sterling