Heart Valve Care
North Mississippi Medical Center’s Valve Center in Tupelo offers the most advanced treatment available for heart valve disorders.
Conditions Treated
- Aortic stenosis and regurgitation
- Mitral stenosis and regurgitation
- Pulmonic stenosis and regurgitation
- Tricuspid stenosis and regurgitation
Services
- Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Cardiac computed tomography (CT)
- Echocardiography
- Cardiac catheterization
- Balloon Valvuloplasty: This minimally invasive procedure opens a narrowed heart valve, sometimes referred to as stenosis. The cardiologist threads a catheter with a balloon through the femoral artery and into the heart. Once in the aortic valve, the balloon is inflated, which forces the valve open so blood can flow freely again. By improving valve function and blood flow, you may avoid or delay open heart surgery and valve replacement.
- Mini-valve surgery: Cardiothoracic surgeons perform mitral valve repair/replacement or aortic valve repair/replacement through a three-inch incision. You have fewer complications, decreased blood loss and a quicker recovery.
- Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR): NMMC-Tupelo was the first hospital in Mississippi and west Tennessee to offer transcatheter aortic valve replacement for high-risk patients who suffer from aortic stenosis.
- Percutaneous Mitral Valve Repair: The mitral valve is located between the heart’s two left chambers and has two flaps of tissue, called leaflets, that open and close to ensure that blood flows in only one direction. When this valve fails to close completely, blood leaks backward inside the heart, causing mitral regurgitation. Unlike surgery, percutaneous mitral valve repair does not require opening the chest and temporarily stopping the heart. Instead, our cardiothoracic surgeons access the mitral valve with a thin tube called a catheter that is guided through a vein in the leg to reach the heart. The device is then attached to the mitral valve and allows it to close more completely, helping to restore normal blood flow through the heart.
- Open heart surgery remains an option if a minimally invasive procedure is not successful.
Heart Valve Team
You receive a comprehensive functional assessment by specialists in a convenient, outpatient setting. Our team designs a treatment plan and communicates it to you and your referring physician for ongoing care. NMMC specializes in minimally invasive heart procedures, avoiding major surgery whenever possible. Your referring physician can access your reports through NMMC ’s electronic medical record.
Murmur Clinic
A heart murmur is a sound, not a disease. While most murmurs are harmless and need little to no treatment, some heart murmurs can indicate serious heart and valve disease.
With 3D echo technology and a Valve Center that offers minimally invasive heart valve replacement and repair, we have the expertise not only diagnose but also correct these problems.
