Structural Heart Center
Structural heart disease is any abnormality of the heart and the great arteries, in contrast to the more common diseases of the smaller coronary arteries. These diseases or defects may involve the heart muscle, the heart valves and/or their supporting structures. Structural heart disease is a growing area of concern affecting the cardiovascular health of Americans.
Today, traditional major surgery for structural heart disease is being supplemented by groundbreaking non-surgical procedures, multi-disciplinary approaches and new medical devices. For some high-risk patients, these innovations have produced treatment options where few existed before. For others, non-surgical and hybrid procedures (combining nonsurgical and surgical methods) mean shorter hospital stays, faster recoveries and enhanced safety.
The CardioVascular Institute (CVI) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has established the Structural Heart Center to provide patients with access to these innovative therapies at a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital.