For referrals or more information about our program, call (833) 266-1891, email StructuralHeart@sentara.com
or Click Here for an online referral form.
Sentara Heart Valve and Structural Disease Center
Our Approach to Care
The Sentara Heart Valve and Structural Disease Center is the only program in Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina focused on diagnosing and treating heart valve and structural heart disease. The Center offers the most innovative heart valve repair options available including the newest generation of valves that physicians implant through minimally invasive catheterization. The Center was the first in the region to offer these advanced transcatheter cardiac treatments:
- Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for severe aortic stenosis
- MitraClip® device for mitral valve repair
- WATCHMAN® left atrial appendage closure device for atrial fibrillation
- PARACHUTE investigational device for ischemic cardiomyopathy
In addition, the Center continues to perform a high volume of other types of heart valve repair and replacement surgeries including percutaneous aortic and mitral balloon valvuloplasty, atrial septal and ventricular septal defect repairs, and closures of paravalvular leaks. There is also an ongoing commitment to participation in national clinical trials.
At the Center, a program navigator guides first- time patients through the referral and screening process. Upon completion, a team of interventional cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and advanced practice clinicians work collaboratively to assess the patient’s condition and determine the most appropriate course of therapy or treatment.
The result is an individualized disease management plan tailored specifically to a patient’s cardiac needs. The program navigator and Structural Heart coordinators provide a single point of contact for referring physicians, providing updates on a patient’s progress and communicating follow-up care management upon the patient’s discharge from the center.
Rapidly growing advancements in minimally invasive heart surgery are yielding faster recoveries and improving patient satisfaction and comfort – all with less visible scarring. Because of these benefits, physicians at the Center perform catheter-based heart procedures for most single-valve repairs and replacements whenever possible.