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Life-saving heart procedure coming soon to N.L.

Health Minister Steve Kent says that after years of campaigning to bring a life-saving heart procedure to the province, sick patients will no longer have to travel to New Brunswick or Ontario for medical treatment.

TAVI procedure is performed when open-heart surgery is too risky

CBC News ·
Steve Kent and cardiologist Dr. Sean Connors made the announcement in this catheterization lab at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John's Wednesday. (CBC)

Health Minister Steve Kent says after years of campaigning to bring a life-saving heart procedure to the province, sick patients will no longer have to travel to New Brunswick or Ontario to have it.
 
Kent announced Wednesday that doctors have begun training in trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), a minimally invasive procedure that replaces the aortic valve. 

TAVI is offered as an alternative when open-heart surgery is deemed too risky. 

"Cardiac disease is the number one killer of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and our numbers are worse than anywhere else in Canada," Kent said. 
Some patients, Kent said, are not able to travel to have the TAVI procedure. (CBC)

Last July, Dr. Neil Pearce, who heads the cardiac catheterization laboratory at Eastern Health, told CBC News that some patients aren't able to travel elsewhere to have the procedure.  

"Whenever we're in a situation where a patient can't have an open surgery and they're also too sick or, for whatever reason, can't make the trip to a mainland center, it's a difficult situation," Pearce said. 

Offering more for less

Kent said about 600 open-heart surgeries are performed annually in the province. Roughly 100 of those are performed on the aortic valve. 

"Some of the benefits of this move include improved outcomes for patient survival and [improved] quality of life," he said.

Last July, Carmel Walsh's family told CBC News she's not strong enough to travel to New Brunswick for the much-needed procedure. (CBC)
"Lower rates of major bleeding, shorter patient stays in the intensive care unit, shorter hospitalization — which will take pressure off the system — and a reduction in hospital re-admission as well."

"We're going to be able to offer more procedures for less money."

Kent added that cardiologists and cardiac surgeons will be more inclined to stay in the province if they aren't limited in their scope of practice. 

He said that doctors will be trained in the procedure within months.

The health minister estimates about 20 people will benefit from the procedure each year.

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