Comprised of the cardiologist and the heart surgeon, the heart team collaboratively assesses and determines the best course of treatment for cardiac patients. ECHI has a large and successful surgical and percutaneous valve program built on the heart team concept. This approach is also used for treating patients with coronary artery disease by applying the use of fractional flow reserve (FFR).

A study shows that coronary artery calcium (CAC) screening, an assessment tool that is not currently recommended for people considered at low risk, should play a more prominent role in helping determine a person’s risk for heart attack and heart disease-related death, as well as the need for angioplasty or bypass surgery.

It was not until we began planning that we realized just how involved TAVR programs are — they require much more work than we originally anticipated. At Terrebonne General Medical Center (TGMC), our TAVR program started as part of a research project in our structural heart department. It was an opportunity to offer advanced patient care and determine the effectiveness of TAVR on patients experiencing severe aortic stenosis, who were deemed inoperable by two cardiac surgeons.