In a recent announcement, V-Wave has disclosed that groundbreaking data from its RELIEVE-HF pivotal trial will be showcased at the American …
Valvular heart disease affects millions of Americans, with an estimated 25,000 deaths attributed to it annually. However, researchers from Rutgers Health and other eminent institutions have cast a ray of hope, expressing optimism about new technology that could significantly reduce this mortality rate in the near future.
Partho Sengupta, Henry Rutgers Professor of Cardiology and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Disease and Hypertension at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, stated, “We are witnessing a paradigm shift in how valvular heart diseases are diagnosed and treated.” In a paper published in The Lancet, Sengupta elaborates on current and forthcoming technologies, emphasizing the need to embrace imminent changes.
Valvular heart disease occurs when any of the heart’s four valves are damaged or diseased. Alarmingly, it affects 2.5 percent of all Americans and 13 percent of those over the age of 80. Often, cases go undiagnosed until symptoms such as breathlessness, chest pain, or fatigue manifest. Early detection, however, can prolong the quality of life and prevent progression.
Traditional methods of diagnosing valvular heart disease involve listening through a stethoscope, but recent advances indicate that AI can detect infrasonic heart murmurs that are inaudible to the human ear. Electrocardiograms and wearable devices can also provide AI with the necessary data to identify potential cases of the disease. These devices have the potential to detect early signs of the condition and monitor its progression after diagnosis.
Furthermore, portable ultrasound devices and AI can aid primary care physicians in early diagnosis. Healthcare professionals can now use a combination of these resources to diagnose heart diseases, making valvular heart disease screenings a part of routine checkups for high-risk patients.
While no medications are currently approved for treating valvular heart disease, ongoing trials are exploring this avenue. Cholesterol levels may exacerbate certain types of the disease, leading drug companies to test statins and PSK9 inhibitors against aortic stenosis. Additionally, DPP-4 inhibitors, a class of diabetes drugs, appear to slow the progress of aortic stenosis by maintaining nitric oxide levels around valve tissue. Rutgers and RWJBarnabas Health are currently offering these experimental therapies to patients as part of a clinical trial testing a strategy for preventing the progression of valve diseases.
In terms of surgical options, timely surgeries and transcatheter valve replacements have emerged as less invasive alternatives. However, the prosthetic valve tissue currently used does not perform as well as the body’s natural tissue and deteriorates over time. Nevertheless, clinical trials for a new generation of flexible prosthetics offer hope for improved performance. These prostheses are designed to be resorbable, allowing the body to eventually replace them with organic valves.
The potential of these innovative approaches “may also be incorporated globally in our fight against valvular heart disease,” said Sengupta, expressing hope that the research presented in The Lancet will guide the future of clinical care at Rutgers and beyond. If you are interested in further information, visit www.thelancet.com.
By utilising recent advancements in technology, it is clear that the treatment and management of valvular heart disease are on the verge of a revolution, offering hope to the millions affected by this condition.