Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital achieves cardiac care milestone

The structural heart program at Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital celebrated a major milestone in providing cardiac care to the Tucson community. The St. Mary’s cardiac team recently performed its 300th transcatheter aortic valve replacement device (TAVR) implantation at the hospital. This latest achievement demonstrates the hospital’s commitment to improving cardiac care for heart valve disease patients.

“Carondelet St. Mary’s continues to be a heart care leader in Tucson, pursuing advancements in cardiac treatment and technology,” said Kapildeo Lotun, M.D., Carondelet Cardiovascular Director. “The structural heart program strives to provide the latest and most advanced heart procedures for our patients. The Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement is a great option to treat patients through a less-invasive alternative and minimize the recovery time. Our goal is to get our patients back to the life they love and the activities they enjoy.”

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S., killing more people every year than all forms of cancer combined. TAVR is a minimally invasive way to replace a patient’s diseased aortic valve without traditional open-heart surgery while the heart continues to beat, eliminating the need for a cardiopulmonary bypass. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a less invasive treatment option for those individuals with severe aortic stenosis who, because of age or other medical issues, might not be considered good candidates for traditional surgery.

The St. Mary's Structural Heart Disease team also provides care for other heart valve diseases, including MitraClip for Mitral Regurgitation, Watchman implantation for Atrial fibrillation, and Patent foramen Ovale/ Atrial Septal/ Ventricular Septal closure, along with other therapies.

“Expanding cardiology services is a commitment we have been passionate about. This is a significant enhancement and investment in heart care for our Tucson community, and benefits so many of our neighbors who have very good alternatives for open heart surgery. I am very proud of our heart team physicians and staff for their dedication to our cardiac patients,” said David Ziolkowski, St. Mary’s Hospital Chief Executive Officer.