Our number 1 killer, one Australian dies every 27 minutes from heart diseases like hardening of the arteries, heart failure and valve problems.

A common form of deadly heart valve disease is Aortic Stenosis that affects up to 5% of people aged 65 and over – with only a 50% chance of survival after 2 years, and less than 20% survival after 5 years.

While valves can be replaced via traditional open heart surgery, 30-50% of patients are too sick to have open heart surgery but thanks to an increasingly common surgical technique (‘TAVI’), Australian surgeons can operate on more patients and increase Aortic Stenosis survival rates.

Now thanks to a new anti stroke protection device now being used during the TAVI procedure at Sydney Adventist Hospital, the procedure is safer than ever with a reduced risk of stroke occurring during the surgery.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Brian Plunkett is one of several specialists from the San who does the TAVI procedure and are now using this new protection system that essentially filters debri that breaks off during the procedure that might otherwise cause a stroke.

Download this podcast here