Diseases and conditions

Structural heart diseases are conditions that impact the heart’s structure including its valves, chambers, and walls. Our team of heart specialists possess extensive expertise in utilizing cutting-edge diagnostic techniques and treatments for addressing structural heart disease.

The most common types of structural heart diseases are:

• Heart valve disease: Heart valve disease can impact any of the heart’s valves (aortic, mitral, pulmonic, and tricuspid), although issues with the aortic and mitral valves are more common compared to the pulmonary or tricuspid valves. Among the heart valve conditions we address are:
  • Aortic valve stenosis
  • Aortic valve regurgitation
  • Mitral valve stenosis
  • Mitral valve regurgitation
  • Tricuspid valve stenosis
  • Tricuspid valve regurgitation
  • Pulmonary valve stenosis
  • Pulmonary valve regurgitation
• Congenital heart diseases: Certain individuals are born with congenital heart diseases, where heart structures do not develop properly before birth. While severe congenital conditions require treatment during infancy or childhood, others may not experience symptoms until later in life. Congenital heart diseases addressed in our program include, but are not limited to:
  • Anomalous coronary artery
  • Atrial and ventricular septal defects
  • Bicuspid aortic valve
  • Ebstein’s anomaly
  • Patent foramen ovale
  • Single ventricle
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Cardiomyopathy includes a range of conditions characterized by the enlargement or weakening of the heart muscle. Among these conditions, the most common is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which involves the abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, typically affecting the left ventricle, the main pumping chamber of the heart.
• Atrial fibrillation (Afib): Atrial fibrillation is a form of irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia) characterized by a rapid and erratic heartbeat. AFib increases the likelihood of blood clot formation in the heart, potentially resulting in a stroke if clots travel to the brain. While blood thinners can help decrease the risk of strokes, they also heighten the possibility of bleeding.

Our advanced treatment options

At UTHealth Houston, we deliver exceptional treatment for a full range of structural heart conditions. Our world-renowned team of interventional cardiologists and specialists lead the country in cutting-edge diagnostic techniques and therapies. Our team of experts use several types of minimally invasive procedures to treat structural heart disease, depending on the patient’s needs.

In addition to conventional surgical interventions, our expertise includes:

• Alcohol septal ablation for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
• Cardiac catheterization
• Left atrial appendage closure (Watchman™) and interatrial shunting
• Mitral and tricuspid transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (MitraClip™ and tricuspid clips)
• Paravalvular leak closures
• Patent foramen ovale/atrial septal defect/ventricular septal defect closure
• Percutaneous balloon aortic and mitral valvulplasty
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with cerebral embolic protection
• Valve-in-valve transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR)
• Transcatheter pulmonic valve replacement

To ensure timely access to care, magnetic resonance imaging is administered on the day of admission and patients are treated within 1 – 2 weeks.

Clinical trials and research

Clinical trials

Our structural heart program has a long history of clinical research providing early access to promising treatments for eligible patients. Many UTHealth Houston clinical trials focus on developing additional transcatheter techniques to fulfill unmet needs in the mitral and tricuspid space.

As innovators in the field, UTHealth Houston is proud to be one of the only institutions to be involved in every structural heart clinical trial in the world. This allows our patients to receive groundbreaking therapies when conventional treatments fail.

Research

Being at the forefront of structural heart procedures to offer the most advanced technologies is essential to our team. UTHealth Houston physicians participate in national and international research trials and outcome studies to pioneer new ways of customizing transcatheter structural heart procedures.

Our goal is to achieve the lowest morbity and mortality of patients, while working to improve our patient’s overall quality of life.

Why choose our program: The UTHealth Houston advantage

At UTHealth Houston, we have an extraordinary track record of pioneering interventional heart procedures and providing remarkable care. Our legacy includes several notable achievements:

• Pioneers in structural heart innovations: Our specialists have a rich history of leading groundbreaking innovations and participating in pivotal clinical trials that set the standards for care nationwide. From TAVR to MitraClip™ and balloon valvuloplasty for mitral stenosis, our interventional cardiologists are consistently at the forefront of structural heart disease advancements.

• Texas’ first Transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR) with EVOQUE: As the first to perform a commercial TTVR in Texas using EVOQUE, UTHealth Houston continues to lead in groundbreaking heart valve replacement procedures, offering patients cutting-edge care.
• Exclusive and emerging therapies: We offer unique treatments not available elsewhere in the region. Our expertise extends to emerging procedures accessible only through clinical trials. Among these are interventions for tricuspid and mitral valve regurgitation using transcatheter approaches. Additionally, we provide alternatives for atrial septal defect (ASD) treatment, employing innovative methods such as small mesh tube (stent) placement.
• Unmatched outcomes: Our results consistently rank among the best in the nation. We hold top ratings for TAVR procedures in the Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry, a prestigious national outcomes database endorsed by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the American College of Cardiology.
• Holistic, collaborative approach: Our interventional cardiologists work in close collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of specialists, including interventional echocardiographers, cardiac surgeons, vascular surgeons, and other specialties to provide the best possible care.