A multidisciplinary clinic that combines the expertise of cardiac surgeons and interventional cardiologists to provide focused assessment and treatment options for patients with complex valve disorders.

Missouri Baptist Medical Center cardiac surgeons and cardiologists are teaming up to provide better treatment options for patients with heart valve conditions. The new Heart Valve Clinic at Missouri Baptist opens June 3, offering patients with heart valve disease access to several specialists at one time in order to expedite their care and help determine the optimal treatment protocol in a setting that is convenient for the patient.

“Valve disease is a complex condition, and the proper treatment sometimes can encompass the entire spectrum of medical care, interventional procedures and surgery. As patient conditions become more complex, a multidisciplinary approach often is needed to arrive at an optimal treatment plan for each patient. Having patients evaluated by a team of cardiologists and surgeons during one visit serves the best interests of the patient,” said Cardiac Surgeon Michael Mauney, who will co-lead the center.

The Heart Center at Missouri Baptist performed 324 valve surgeries last year, a 24 percent increase since 2007. Of those, 182 required aortic valve repair or, more commonly, replacement. The hospital’s risk-adjusted mortality rates for isolated aortic valve replacement, averaged just 1.5 percent compared to 3.0 percent nationally since 2005 (STS National Cardiac Surgery Database).

In addition to complex valve work, its cardiothoracic surgeons are known for pioneering procedures to repair aortic aneurysms.

Missouri Baptist also is looking to offer less invasive surgical and catheter-based aortic valve therapies in the near future. “We believe these newer surgical and catheter-based approaches in a multidisciplinary setting, will provide life-saving treatment for patients previously through to be too high a risk for interventions – as illustrated recently in the landmark PARTNER trial looking at medical, surgical, and catheter-based approaches for high risk aortic stenosis patients,” said Mauney.

According to the American Heart Association, valve disease most often strikes either the mitral valve, which controls blood flow into the heart, or the aortic valve, which controls blood flow out of the heart. Valvular heart disease causes about 20,000 deaths per year in the United States. An estimated 95,000 inpatient valve procedures are performed per year in the United States.

Valve surgery is performed for two major conditions – leaking valves and blocked valves. Both conditions can lead to heart failure. Valve surgery typically involves either valve replacement or valve repair.

At Missouri Baptist, surgeons have performed 3,198 valve procedures in 2,844 patients over the past ten years. More than 25 percent of these cases required some degree of revascularization, 20 percent were re-do operations to correct surgical cases done at other centers, and 12 percent involved more than one valve procedure. “Because a large percentage of the patients we see have multiple heart problems, or are having re-do procedures, we often perform multiple procedures, like coronary bypass and valve surgery, together,” said Mauney.

Heart Valve Conference: In addition to the Heart Valve Clinic, Missouri Baptist also holds a weekly Heart Valve Conference with the entire team of cardiologists and surgeons to discuss cases and evaluate treatment protocols. “This multidisciplinary approach to treatment insures the highest quality of care for the patients we serve and is a hallmark of our program,” said Mauney.

To make an appointment with the Heart Valve Clinic at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, call 314-996-LIFE (996-5433) or toll-free 1-800-392-0936.