Oklahoma Heart Institute Brings National Cardiovascular Clinical Trials to Tulsa
核心洞察
Oklahoma Heart Institute (搜索) (OHI) is bringing roughly 50 nationwide clinical trials to Tulsa, expanding access to advanced cardiac care for local patients.
The research focuses on minimally invasive, catheter-based heart valve replacement performed through the femoral artery or vein in a beating heart, avoiding open-heart surgery.
Patients recover faster with these therapies, with many heading home in just one or two days, according to interventional cardiologist Dr. Kamran Muhammad.
Getting treatment for heart disease (搜索) often means traveling to larger metropolitan areas for advanced care, but doctors at the Oklahoma Heart Institute (搜索) (OHI) are working to change that by bringing nationwide clinical trials directly to Green Country. For many older or frail patients with heart disease, traveling long distances to cities like Dallas, Houston or Kansas City for cutting-edge treatments is not always an option.
Cardiologists in Tulsa are now participating in roughly 50 different clinical trials to offer minimally invasive care right in their own community. One major focus of the research at OHI involves helping patients suffering from failing heart valves (搜索) through catheter-based procedures instead of traditional open-heart surgery.
Minimally Invasive Valve Replacement in a Beating Heart
"What that means is we're able to offer patients therapies that are minimally invasive, like replacing their heart valve without any surgery, going through the femoral artery or vein in a beating heart and replacing a heart valve, and we do this all the time," explained Dr. Kamran Muhammad, an interventional cardiologist at Oklahoma Heart Institute (搜索).
Muhammad explained that these advanced therapies allow patients to recover much faster, with many heading home in just one or two days. To explain the procedure to patients, Muhammad compares fixing a heart valve with a catheter to performing delicate maintenance on an automobile: "What I do is like fixing your car's engine through the tailpipe with the engine running. That's the idea of putting a catheter in and going through the plumbing back up to the heart and then working on a valve in the heart, but from further away using a catheter while the heart's beating."
Expanding Access to Lifesaving Innovation
Bringing these clinical trials to Tulsa ensures local residents can access lifesaving medical innovations without leaving the state. "Traditionally, medium-sized cities like Tulsa haven't had access to these clinical trials and so the population basically has not been able to access these important new opportunities to feel better, live longer, unless you travel to a big city like Dallas or Houston or Kansas City. That's hard when you're 80 and you don't feel well," Muhammad said.
National Recognition and Future Directions
The Oklahoma Heart Institute (搜索) was also recently ranked 19th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for its transcatheter aortic valve replacement program. Muhammad encourages anyone suffering from heart disease (搜索) who has been told they are out of standard treatment options to reach out to OHI to evaluate their potential eligibility for upcoming clinical trials. Physicians at the institute plan to continue expanding research efforts to keep local patients connected with the latest cardiac innovations as soon as they become available.