The Montefiore Structural Heart Program at White Plains Hospital provides patients with the most advanced minimally invasive procedures for complex conditions of the heart valve. Every patient is evaluated, and the resulting procedure is performed, by internationally recognized experts in interventional cardiology together with world-class cardiac surgeons. This comprehensive cardiac care team will guide you through the entire process so you can get back to your life sooner.
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
More than five million Americans are diagnosed with heart valve disease each year, including 1.5 million with aortic stenosis – or the narrowing of the aortic valve. This condition often appears in those 65 and older and deteriorates with age. Older patients with aortic stenosis and other congenital heart diseases can often benefit from a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR).
White Plains Hospital is one of only two hospitals in Westchester County with the ability to perform this minimally invasive procedure so you can get the lifesaving care you need, close to home. The TAVR procedure, which typically takes less than an hour, involves specially trained physicians using advanced imaging techniques to guide a flexible tube called a catheter through a small needle hole in the groin, up through the blood vessels, to the diseased aortic valve. The team then uses the catheter to deploy a new valve, immediately restoring function and blood flow.
Many of our patients go home the next day, and while outpatient physical therapy may be recommended, quality of life is immediately improved.
Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO)
One in four individuals has a hole in their heart called a patent foramen ovale (PFO). For most, it causes no adverse health effects; in fact, the majority of those affected don't even know they have it. However, for some this condition can lead to blood clots traveling from the heart to the brain and causing a stroke.
Treatment most often requires a minimally invasive procedure in our Cardiac Catheterization Lab, where our team uses catheters to close the hole. Many of our patients go home the same day with peace of mind that the future risk of stroke is significantly reduced.
Expert care
Azeem Latib, MD
Montefiore Einstein System Director for Structural Heart
Director of the Montefiore Structural Heart Program at White Plains Hospital
As a member of the Montefiore Health System, White Plains Hospital draws upon Montefiore’s rich history of successful contributions to the cardiac field to remain at the forefront of advanced cardiac services and deliver exceptional outcomes for our most high-risk patients.
Overseeing the Montefiore Structural Heart Program at White Plains Hospital is Dr. Azeem Latib, a world-leading expert in interventional cardiology, with a clinical focus on complex coronary interventions as well as transcatheter aortic, mitral and tricuspid interventions. He has extensive clinical experience in TAVR and MitraClip procedures, as well as expertise in novel and new devices to treat mitral and tricuspid valve disease minimally invasively without open-heart surgery.
Dr. Latib’s findings have been published widely by more than 800 peer-reviewed publications. He serves on the editorial board of many journals, including Cardiac Interventions Today, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Interventions and Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine.
Our Structural Heart procedures are performed in conjunction with internationally renowned surgeons from the Montefiore Cardiac Surgery Program at White Plains Hospital. The Cardiac Surgery Team is led by Robert E. Michler, MD, Surgeon-in-Chief Montefiore Einstein Health System, Chairman, Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery, and Chairman, Surgery at Montefiore. Dr. Michler is an internationally renowned cardiothoracic surgeon, researcher and a leader in multiple cardiac specialties, including complex cardiac surgery, heart transplantation, valve repair surgery, ventricular reconstruction for congestive heart failure and minimally invasive cardiac surgery.
Dr. Latib’s publications
Montefiore Einstein System Director for Structural Heart
Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease
Dr. Edwin Ho is the Director of Structural Heart Imaging and Co-Director of the Heart Valve/Structural Heart Center at Montefiore. His clinical focus is on valvular heart disease, especially novel transcatheter valve repair and replacement technologies.
Dr. Ho received his medical degree from the University of Toronto, followed by a three-year residency in general internal medicine and a three-year fellowship in adult cardiology at the same institution. He then pursued a clinical fellowship in echocardiography, interventional echocardiography and valvular heart disease at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. Afterward, Dr. Ho completed a clinical fellowship in interventional echocardiography and valvular heart disease at the University Hospital of Zurich in Switzerland.
Dr. Ho’s research focuses on valvular heart disease and advanced cardiac imaging. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and he has been invited to present and participate as faculty at numerous international cardiology and valve meetings. In addition, he has been an invited manuscript reviewer for JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging and Cardiovascular Medicine.
An exceptional approach
Beyond clinical excellence, we believe in a collaborative approach that is patient-centered and diligently adheres to best practices and evidence-based protocols. We work collaboratively to provide an optimal care plan for you to ensure the best possible outcome and quickest recovery.
Your journey will begin with a thorough assessment at our Center for Advanced Medicine & Surgery, resulting in our interventionalists and cardiac surgeons deciding the best approach for treatment and creating a comprehensive personalized plan for your procedure and recovery. Your initial office visit is intended to help answer your questions and get the necessary diagnostic tests completed, including advanced cardiac imaging, to prepare you for your procedure.
The TAVR procedure will take place in our state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization labs. Following surgery, patients can expect to recover overnight in our dedicated Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit, where they will be monitored by specialty trained cardiologists, cardiothoracic physicians, physician assistants, registered nurses and support staff.
Upon discharge, the team at the Hospital will arrange for all necessary follow up-care and appointments with the patient’s own cardiologist or primary care team.