Northwestern Hospitals In McHenry, Huntley Reach Milestones

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — When Northwestern Medicine expanded its range of cardiovascular services in McHenry County, it did so with the hope of providing more residents requiring heart-related medical attention with the care they need.

Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital announced recently that it had competed its 100th Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacements (TAVR) procedure at its McHenry location. The procedure involves using a catheter to replace the aortic valve with a catheter rather than having to rely on open-heart surgery.

“We are proud to have pioneered this minimally invasive option at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and we are now able to offer this procedure for patients in McHenry County,” Patrick M. McCarthy, MD, executive director of the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute and chief of cardiac surgery, said in a news release.

During TAVR, interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons thread an artificial valve to the heart using a catheter, or tube, most often inserted in the patient’s groin, Northwestern Medicine said in a news release.

The valve is expanded and wedges the new valve within the patient’s own diseased aortic valve. The TAVR valve pushes the diseased valve leaflets to the side allowing the TAVR valve to take over the job of regulating blood flow. Procedures such as TAVR allow work to be completed while the heart is still beating, the medical group explained, which eliminates the need for a heart-lung machine to be used.

“This procedure is a less invasive technique than surgery,” Elizabeth Retzer, MD, interventional cardiology at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital said in the release. “The 100th TAVR at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital is a milestone that exemplifies our commitment to providing the highest quality of care for our patients.”

The TAVR team at Northwestern McHenry Hospital is built up of an interventional cardiologist, cardiac surgeon, a cardiac imaging specialist, valve clinic coordinator, structural heart nurse and a structural heart nurse practitioner.

In addition to the TAVR milestone, Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Huntley Hospital successfully implanted the first CardioMEMS device, marking its continued commitment to expanding the cardiac program in McHenry County.

A CardioMEMS is a monitoring device that is deployed in the pulmonary artery, allowing non-invasive monitoring of pulmonary artery pressures, which helps to guide medical therapy in patients with heart failure, Northwestern Medicine officials said in the release.

“Our vision to increase access to this innovative procedure in McHenry County and Kane County, which will help local patients receive care closer to their home,” Asim Zaidi, MD, medical director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute for the Northwestern Medicine McHenry and Huntley Hospitals said in the release.

“The Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital pioneered TAVR and transcatheter techniques, and now we are able to extend it to Northwestern Medicine McHenry and Huntley Hospitals, providing the highest quality of care in a more convenient setting.”