b'I N N O V A T I V E T E C H N O L O G Y A N D P R O C E D U R E S | E X P E R T C A R E | W E A R E H E R E 13E R F O R MP 10 E DSV AA NB U NY L L ABalloon Aortic Valvuloplasty (BAV)Several decades ago, balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) was seen as a promising alternative to traditional open-heart surgery or medication to repair severely narrowed heart valves.Now, at Concord Hospital Cardiovascular Institute and around the country, the minimally invasive procedure is seen as a bridge or temporary solution before more permanent heart procedures or to improve a cardiac patients health before urgent surgery for other conditions. It also is provided as palliative treatment for patients too frail for other procedures.Concord Hospital Cardiovascular Institute began off ering BAV in 2016. Now, its cardiac specialists perform approximately 10 BAV procedures a year. A main reason for the small number is the advent of another, permanent, procedure called TAVR, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, which has been performed at Concord Hospital since 2017. During a balloon aortic valvuloplasty, a cardiologist threads a balloon to the valve through a blood vessel, infl ates it to widen the valve, then defl ates and withdraws it, off ering improvement for six to twelve months, depending on the patient. Both procedures target aortic valve stenosis, a narrowing of the aortic valve between the heart and the aorta, the artery which supplies blood to the body. A narrowed aortic valve forces the heart to pump harder to get enough blood through the valve, causing symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue or passing out.Dr. Patrick Magnus, of Concord Hospital Cardiology, said the balloon procedure is appropriate for patients with severe aortic stenosis along with other illnesses who cannot immediately have surgery or a TAVR procedure.BAV acts as a bridge to a decision on future treatment or gives patients time to get surgery or TAVR, Dr. Magnus said.'