Aortic Stenosis is a heart condition that is increasingly common as we get older. “Most commonly when calcium buildup on the aortic valve and prevents it from opening as much as it should, or closing as much as it should. It makes the heart work harder to get blood to the body,” said Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. David Cervantes.

If left untouched, “The heart grows to compensate for that. Like any muscle if it’s working harder, it grows bigger, and then eventually can compromise the blood supply to the heart which can cause heart failure,” said Dr. Cervantes.

The good news is that it’s very treatable. The Shipley Cardiothoracic center at the Lee Health Heart Institute was the first program in the state, and second in the country to conduct the minimally invasive TAVR procedure more than a decade ago. “We usually go in through the groin, using a catheter about the width of my pinky. We snake it up through the aorta across the aortic valve, where we deploy it carefully to open up the aortic valve.”

Dr. Cervantes said the procedure takes about an hour and a half. After a short hospital stay, patients can get back to their normal lives in about a week. “This is one of the most rewarding procedures that I do. People feel better the next day. When they wake up in the morning, I’ve got multiple patients. Say how great they feel and they never could’ve imagined they felt this way. With most openheart surgeries, people hurt because they had their chest open but with this procedure people instantly feel better.”

TAVR is considered curative. Speak with your doctor if you’re experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, or fatigue. You can learn more by visiting leehealth.org/heart.



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Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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