Find Treatment for Aortic Stenosis with Aortic Valve Replacement in the Sacramento Region

Aortic valve replacement is cardiology surgery to replace a damaged or diseased aortic valve with a new one. This surgery may be recommended to improve blood flow in your body. 

If you’re searching for clinically advanced aortic valve replacement in the Sacramento region, our team of cardiology experts at the Dignity Health Heart and Vascular Institute of Greater Sacramento is ready to assist you. Find a Cardiology Doctor near you today.

Why Aortic Valve Replacement is Performed

Cardiac surgeons at Dignity Health Heart and Vascular Institute of Greater Sacramento may perform aortic valve replacement as a treatment for aortic valve stenosis (narrowing of artery) and aortic valve regurgitation. These conditions can limit the amount of oxygen flowing through your body.

Your heart surgeon will order several tests and consider the following factors to see if an aortic valve replacement may be right for you:

• Amount of blood flowing into your aorta from the heart
• Size and shape of your aortic valve
• Size of your heart muscle, to see if it is enlarged from working too hard to make up for the defective valve

What to Expect from Aortic Valve Replacement at Dignity Health

Our team of cardiology experts performs the most clinically advanced procedures for aortic valve replacement. In some cases, aortic valve replacement will require open heart surgery. This procedure is referred to as surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). During SAVR, your surgeon makes an incision in the breastbone to access your heart. Your heart will be stopped temporarily and your body’s blood will be routed through a heart bypass machine. After removing the damaged aortic valve, your surgeon replaces it with a new, biological (human or animal) or mechanical valve. 

Certain patients may be eligible for a minimally invasive surgery called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). To perform this procedure, your surgeon makes an incision in a large artery in your groin or chest. Feeding a thin, flexible wire through the artery to your heart, your surgeon inserts a new valve inside the existing aortic valve.

Aortic Valve Replacement Recovery

An aortic valve replacement will be performed at Dignity Health’s Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento. You’ll need to spend about a week in the hospital while you recover from surgery. If you have minimally invasive aortic valve replacement, your stay may be shorter.

When you’re ready to go home, your doctor will provide you with detailed instructions on what you can eat and what activities are safe to perform during the healing process. Medications may be prescribed to help with pain. Most people feel much better after aortic valve replacement because of an increased flow of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.