By: Dr. Ramirez
With heart disease continuing to be the leading cause of death amongst both men and women in the United States, Rio Grande Regional Hospital (RGRH) will be expanding its current cardiac program by developing a structural heart program. The new heart program will provide innovative, multi-specialty care for patients with advanced and complex valvular and structural heart disease.
Structural heart disease refers to a defect in the heart’s valves, walls or chambers. The condition can be present at birth or it may develop over time. Historically, open-heart surgery has been the common treatment method, but now, less invasive approaches are viable alternatives, for some patients, and offer shorter hospital stays, quicker recovery, and fewer complications.
The new structural heart program at RGRH will serve as a comprehensive foundation to treat most types of cardiac valve structural treatments by offering advanced imaging modalities, complex interventional and transcatheter approaches, as well as innovative and robotic surgical options.
Dr. Norman Ramirez, Interventional Cardiologist and Rio Grande Valley native, will lead the development of the new structural heart program at RGRH. Dr. Ramirez is a Yale and Stanford University graduate, a Duke University Fellow and was on staff at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona before joining the medical staff at RGRH in 1989.
Dr. Ramirez is one of the leading cardiologists in the Rio Grande Valley having performed many complex cardiological procedures in the area which include: over 400 transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures for aortic stenosis, WatchmanTM implants, carotid stent placements, mitral valve repairs, in addition to thousands of heart catherization’s.
RGRHs multidisciplinary team of specialists will collaborate under one roof to develop a specialized treatment plan to provide patients the most optimized care.
To learn more about the services offered at Rio Grande Regional Hospital, visit riohealth.com.
