Heart valves regulate blood flow, and major calcium buildup there can be life threatening. So is open-heart surgery for patients with the condition.
The FDA has approved the Tendyne device to replace the mitral heart valve through a small incision between the ribs.
Dr. Paul Sorajja with Banner-University Medical Center in Phoenix helped develop the device. In a clinical trial of just over 100 patients, nearly 90% saw significant improvement in heart failure symptoms.
"It does replace high risk surgery, which is very important. It’s a very safe procedure. We found it to be safer than conventional surgery. So it’s a great option for patients who often go untreated," Sorajja said.
Sorajja said patients often spent less than a week in the hospital after their operation.
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A record-strong El Niño event developing in the Pacific Ocean could bring much-needed moisture to Arizona in the months ahead, but a wet winter is guaranteed. -
The climate and sustainability program at Discovery Partners Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign wants to find ways to get people heat information that is more specific to particular locations at particular times, rather than a static kind of map. -
State health officials say they’ve confirmed nearly a thousand COVID-19 cases in the last week. At the same time, lots of Arizonans are starting to think about getting flu and COVID-19 shots for the year. -
A report by Colorado River experts found that a federal plan for water cuts could bring Colorado River use by California, Arizona and Nevada to historically low levels. -
Giant sequoias only grow naturally in California today. But they once ranged as far east as Colorado, Wyoming and Nevada, before the climate turned drier and pushed them into their current, narrower range.
