CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It's Heart Month, and today of all days is a reminder to take care of your heart.
That's why we have some exciting news from CHRISTUS Spohn Shoreline! They're the only hospital in the Coastal Bend region offering a non-surgical heart valve procedure.
It's a procedure called the 'Trans-catheter Mitral Valve Repair', or just 'MitraClip'.
This non-invasive procedure lets doctors repair a heart valve through a small incision into a leg vein. No need to open the chest at all.
Because of that, time drops to just over a week; a big different from the traditional open chest method's 6-8 weeks.
Doctors there say it's a highly effective procedure, and that only a handful of health centers across the United States are offering it.
“Leading the field in cardiology and heart surgery for this community is truly an honor for all of us on the CHRISTUS Spohn cardiac team,” explained Araceli Aguilar Hernandez.
She's the Structural Heart Clinical Program Director for CHRISTUS Spohn here in Corpus Christi.
“The MitraClip procedure is just one pillar of excellent service we provide to the community. There are only a handful of health centers in the U.S. where this procedure is possible. We’re one of those hospitals.”
Dr. Norman Ramirez, cardiologist with CHRISTUS Spohn says that “Patients will feel immediate relief and this helps improve their quality of life. Our patients deserve game-changers."
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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