Patient Outcome Highlights Strength of Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute North Region

January 27, 2021 | 2 min. to read

A little more than a year after joining the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Lake Forest Hospital, cardiologist Mugurel Bazavan, MD, brought dramatic improvement to one patient’s life through treatment involving a percutaneous tricuspid valve replacement. With this accomplishment, Dr. Bazavan and his team demonstrated the collaborative nature of the outstanding care NM patients receive every day.

Arriving at Northwestern Medicine in June 2019, Dr. Bazavan, a heart failure cardiologist, met the patient when he was admitted to LFH in July 2020. The patient had been receiving care at another medical system for complications due to recurrent fluid buildup in the abdomen, secondary to tricuspid regurgitation. At least once a month, the patient underwent paracentesis, a manual procedure that uses a needle and catheter to drain the excess fluid.

Once under the care of Dr. Bazavan and the team of experts at LFH, the patient also had access to the academic medical center at NMH. Evaluation by the transcatheter tricuspid valve team resulted in a diagnosis of cardiac cirrhosis from severe tricuspid regurgitation. Next Dr. Bazavan’s patient was determined to be eligible for the TRISCEND Study clinical trial, and in August, he had a percutaneous tricuspid valve replacement, one of the first of its kind at NM.

The success of the valve replacement enabled Dr. Bazavan and his team to improve the patient’s quality of life, granting him a newfound freedom by dramatically reducing his need for paracentesis. Today, as a result of his improved cardiac status, the patient has found the relief he’d been seeking for years.
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To learn more about the cardiology professionals of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at LFH, click here. To learn more about the transcatheter tricuspid valve program, visit the Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Therapies page on nm.org.

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