Our Hillcrest Medical Center and Oklahoma Heart Institute (OHI) staff and providers recently participated in a healthcare field excursion day with The University of Tulsa Junior Stretched program, which serves underrepresented junior and senior high school students. The day started off with noninvasive cardiologist Dr. Edward Martin giving a talk about sudden cardiac arrest and Nancy Langford, administrative director, demonstrating an automated external defibrillator (AED), followed by lunch at the OHI lecture hall. There was also a panel discussion with four OHI providers and tours of the CV diagnostics, cardiac rehab, cath lab and the heart failure departments. A final talk to finish off the day included Dr. Frank Gaffney, noninvasive cardiologist, who shared his healthcare career journey. Thank you to all our amazing providers and staff members for spending time with these students, and giving them valuable information and experiences. We are so grateful for your time and mentorship!
Oklahoma Heart Institute's (OHI) structural heart team performed its first commercial transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement case with the recently FDA-approved EVOQUE valve on May 21. OHI is the only hospital in the state of Oklahoma and the surrounding region, and one of only 20 hospitals in the country to offer this exciting, minimally invasive, non-surgical replacement of the leaky tricuspid valve, also known as tricuspid regurgitation (TR). OHI was the only hospital in Oklahoma to participate in the TRISCEND II trial, which showed this groundbreaking therapy to be beneficial for patients. Data show that patients have improved quality of life, fewer symptoms of heart failure and increased exercise capacity after undergoing this therapy. TR occurs when the tricuspid heart valve, the main valve on the right side of the heart, doesn’t close completely. This causes blood to flow backward and the heart to struggle. Symptoms include fatigue, swelling, shortness of breath and irregular heartbeat. Thanks to the innovative EVOQUE system, patients can get relief without undergoing surgery. This minimally invasive procedure is performed through catheters in the groin, similar to a heart catheterization. Congratulations to our dedicated team on the successful launch of this groundbreaking therapy! For more information about the EVOQUE valve please visit https://lnkd.in/gMaWBkwf.
