Mary Ellen Bonsignore, a resident of Channahon, is just one example of a patient who’s benefited from advances in cardiac care, technology and procedures offered by Edward-Elmhurst Health.

In February 2015, Bonsignore became only the 80th person in the world to undergo a transcaval transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The procedure, performed at Edward Hospital, was needed because she had severe aortic stenosis, a narrowing of the aortic valve caused by a build-up of calcium.

Because of her age – she was 86 at the time – Bonsignore wasn't a candidate for traditional open heart valve replacement surgery. Traditional TAVR, in which the patient's cardiovascular system is accessed through an artery in the groin, was not an option either because her arteries were too small to accommodate a catheter, which is used to deliver the replacement valve.

As a result, doctors at Edward used the transcaval approach to deliver the replacement valve through a vein, rather than an artery, in Bonsignore’s leg. It took a 15-person team of physicians and other healthcare professionals 2.5 hours to perform the procedure. That night, she was sitting up.

Bonsignore's husband Patrick says, "Mary Ellen had an option. I'm grateful they stay on top of the latest technology."

Edward-Elmhurst’s cardiac team does it through the Cardiac Innovations & Structural Heart Center, which will soon have an official home on the ground floor of the Edward Heart Hospital, 801 S. Washington St. in Naperville. Renovation of the space, which was previously used for patient registration and cardiovascular outpatient testing, is targeted for completion in the fall of 2018.

Until the renovation, funded by a $2 million donation from the Edward Foundation, the Center’s services were provided in several areas throughout the Heart Hospital. The new space will deliver comprehensive cardiovascular care – appointments, diagnosis, testing and consultations – in a single, convenient location.

“We have a team providing the latest treatments that are the last hope for many heart patients,” says Mark Goodwin, MD, an interventional cardiologist and System Medical Director of the Cardiac Innovations & Structural Heart Center. “The combination of skill and compassion of our doctors, nurses and staff, and full range of lifesaving procedures make us a regional and national leader in heart care.”

Patients are benefiting from some of the latest of these developments, including new options for certain patients with painfully blocked leg arteries, leaky heart valves and advanced aortic stenosis, a dangerous narrowing of the aortic valve that affects blood flow.

The Center’s physicians use complex, minimally invasive heart procedures to treat patients who have often been told that traditional surgery is too risky or have no other alternative for treatment.

Procedures offered by the Center include:

• MitraClip: A minimally invasive procedure for patients with degenerative mitral regurgitation who are too sick for open-heart surgery. Edward Hospital was one of the first community hospitals in the Chicago area to use the device and is first in Illinois for the number of MitraClip procedures performed.
  
  
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR): A minimally invasive surgical procedure for patients who suffer from severe aortic stenosis but are deemed too high-risk for traditional open-heart surgery. Edward was one of the first community hospitals in the Chicago area to perform TAVR and is second in Illinois for the number of TAVR procedures performed.
  
  
• WATCHMAN: A first-of-its-kind implant alternative to treat atrial fibrillation, which reduces the risk for stroke and enables patients to stop taking warfarin. Edward performs the most WATCHMAN procedures in Illinois and a seven-state region.
  
  
• CardioMEMS HF System: For heart failure patients, a miniaturized, wireless monitoring sensor implanted during a minimally invasive procedure to directly measure pulmonary artery pressure, allowing patients to quickly and conveniently transmit data from their homes to their healthcare providers so they can be treated before patients become symptomatic.
  
  
• Chronic total occlusion (CTO): Edward-Elmhurst Health treats CTOs, or complete blockages, with a minimally invasive procedure that restores blood flow to the heart without open-heart surgery. Edward Hospital is a global training site for CTO treatment, and the only community hospital in the world to participate in an international conference that features a live streaming of our CTO procedure.
  
  
• Shockwave: For patients with peripheral artery disease. Similar to the technology used to break up kidney stones, Shockwave uses pulses of energy to break up calcified plaque in arteries of the legs, which improves circulation and reduces pain for patients with this condition. Edward was the first hospital in Illinois to use Shockwave and is the only site in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, and one of only 10 sites in the U.S., to use the procedure.
  
  
• Micra Transcatheter Pacing System: A leadless pacemaker that’s used to treat slow or irregular heart rhythm. Edward-Elmhurst is first in Illinois and second in the Midwest for the number of Micra devices implanted.

Learn more about the Cardiac Innovations & Structural Heart Center.