UCHealth Structural Heart and Valve Clinic - Anschutz Medical Campus

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Hours
Monday: 8am – 5pm
Tuesday: 8am – 5pm
Wednesday: 8am – 5pm
Thursday: 8am – 5pm
Friday: 8am – 5pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
Your team
Aken Desai, MD
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Interventional Cardiology

John Carroll, MD
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Interventional Cardiology

Joseph Cleveland, MD
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Thoracic and Cardiac

Kristy Gama, NP
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Heart and Circulation

David Fullerton, MD
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Thoracic and Cardiac

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US News emblem high performing UCH - aortic valve surgeryHeart care that helps you get back to doing the things you want to do.

At UCHealth, we believe in a well-rounded, collaborative approach to patient care. That’s why our Structural Heart and Valve Clinic at Anschutz Medical Campus brings together specialists from numerous disciplines to fully diagnose and treat each patient holistically.

Our program blends the expertise of cardiologists and pediatric cardiologists, neurologists and imaging specialists, as well as the most advanced technologies and treatments available. We want you to have access to the best procedures and care plans for your individual situation, and to get back to doing all the things you dream of doing.

Our structural heart and valve team provides:

  • A collaborative approach that allows you and your family to have more comprehensive, well-rounded information regarding your heart care.
  • The latest innovations, including both catheter and surgical-based interventions.
  • State-of-the-art techniques and devices for aortic valve disease.
  • Industry-leading, advanced diagnostic cardiac imaging, which leads to better patient outcomes.
  • A dedicated program coordinator who bridges communications and ensures continuity of care from pretreatment through treatment and follow-up care.

Advanced technologies, proven treatments

Among the advanced heart procedures our specialists perform at the UCHealth Heart and Structural Valve Clinic:

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)

If you’ve been diagnosed with a damaged aortic valve (sometimes referred to as severe aortic stenosis) and if you’re too sick for open-heart surgery, you might be a candidate for the leading-edge and minimally invasive procedure called TAVR to replace your damaged aortic valve. As compared to open-heart surgery, TAVR offers reduced recovery time, a minimalist approach and conscious sedation that will allow you to go home as soon as the next day.

The expert team at UCHealth was one of the first heart programs in the country to perform TAVR, and we are the most experienced provider of the procedure in Colorado. While there are some surgical components to the procedure, they are minimal and less invasive than open-heart surgery.

>> Learn more about TAVR

Transcatheter mitral valve treatment with MitraClip®

A healthy heart sends blood in one direction through each valve. If you’ve been diagnosed with mitral regurgitation, that means that blood is leaking backward through your mitral valve.

To fix that, our team might suggest treatment with the MitraClip®, especially if you’re at high risk for mitral valve surgery. We have performed over 150 MitraClip® cases at our clinic since 2004, and we conduct about 40 cases per year. We are also participating in a trial using MitraClip® for patients with severe mitral regurgitation.

>> Learn more about MitraClip

WATCHMAN™ left atrial appendage device

If you’ve been prescribed warfarin and prefer not to be on it for the long term, the WATCHMAN™ device offers an alternative.

It’s a one-time implant that doesn’t need to be replaced and that reduces the risk of stroke as well as the long-term risk of bleeding. As many as 95% of patients are able to go off of warfarin six weeks after the WATCHMAN™ implant.

>> Get more information on the WATCHMAN procedure

Additional procedures

Our specialists treat a wide range of other heart-health issues, including failing bioprosthetic mitral valve, cryptogenic stroke, PFO and atrial septal defects. These treatments include:

  • Transcatheter mitral valve replacement – a percutaneous valve replacement option.
  • Transcatheter balloon mitral commissurotomy with the Inoue BalloonTM
  • Transcatheter treatment of paravalvular leaks with plugs.
  • PFO closure.
  • ASD closure.