Our heart specialists work together to offer complete care for every kind of structural heart disease. The Structural Heart Program is the home base for this multidisciplinary care. Our program offers local access to the latest structural heart disease treatments from world-class experts.
What Is Structural Heart Disease?
The term structural heart disease refers to problems with the heart’s structures. These structures include your:
Heart Chambers
Your heart is divided into four chambers. These chambers (called atria and ventricles) pump your blood.
The right atrium and ventricle pump blood to the lungs so they can get oxygen. The left atrium and ventricle then pump the oxygenated blood throughout the body.
Many people with heart chamber abnormalities are born with them. When this happens, it’s called congenital heart disease.
Heart Valves
Your heart has four valves:
- Aortic valve
- Mitral valve
- Pulmonary valve
- Tricuspid valve
The valves are the heart’s gatekeepers, controlling how blood flows in and out of the heart. When a valve does not work properly, blood flow throughout the body is affected.
The main heart valve diseases are regurgitation and stenosis:
- Valve regurgitation: Regurgitation happens when the valves don’t close tightly enough, causing blood to leak backward.
- Valve stenosis: Stenosis occurs when the valve becomes narrow and stiff, decreasing the circulation of oxygenated blood in your body. To make up for this reduction, your heart has to work harder.
Heart Wall
The outermost part of the heart, the heart wall, has three layers:
- Endocardium: It is the innermost layer of the heart wall.
- Myocardium: The myocardium, or heart muscle, is the middle layer of the heart wall. It is the thickest.
- Epicardium: The epicardium is the outer layer of the heart wall.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy affects the heart wall. It happens when the heart muscle thickens and can lead to heart rhythm problems and heart failure. Read more about the care we provide for these conditions in our:
Structural Heart Program: Why Choose Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health?
Major advances in less invasive treatments have turned heart care into a team sport. Our interventional cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons have been in step with this transformation, working together to deliver better outcomes.
These specialists are in constant communication as they tailor treatment plans and problem-solve together. They also participate in a weekly TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) conference. This formal meeting allows all related experts to weigh in and offer their resources.
You also benefit from:
- Experience: Our structural heart disease specialists are among the most experienced in the region. For example, they were among the first in the area to offer TAVR procedures. Today, we do about 150 TAVRs each year.
- One of the only hybrid ORs in the area: Our interventional cardiologists and surgeons operate together in a state-of-the-art hybrid operating room (OR) at Lancaster General Hospital. Hybrid ORs have the technology and equipment to perform minimally invasive and open heart surgeries at the same time. They also make complex heart procedures safer and more successful than those done in traditional ORs. Our hybrid OR makes it possible to get structural heart procedures like TAVR and MitraClip™ in Central Pennsylvania.
- Latest technology: Without advanced heart imaging, treatments like minimally invasive heart valve replacement wouldn’t be possible. We use the latest generation of imaging technology, including 3D echocardiograms and cardiac CTs. These sophisticated tools provide high-quality images, precise valve measurements and a safer, more comfortable experience than previous versions.
Our Structural Heart Procedures
We offer the full range of treatments, including repair and replacement procedures for each heart valve. We also provide comprehensive congenital heart disease treatment for adults, including atrial septal defect (ASD) and patent foramen ovale (PFO) closures.
Learn more about:
Minimally Invasive Heart Valve Repair and Heart Valve Replacement
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Treatment
Make an Appointment
To schedule a structural heart disease treatment consultation, call 717-544-8300.