New Advances in Cardiac Surgery Improve Quality of Life for Heart Patients

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Health is providing new advancements to heart patients that Baystate cardiac surgeon Dr. Siavash Saadat says is improving the quality of their lives.

“We are working on so many advancements in cardiac surgery,” Saadat said. “We’re repairing and replacing valves using minimally invasive techniques that are offering new, innovative ways to deal with complex heart issues.”

Saadat said he is seeing “sicker” hearts since the pandemic started, possibly because people have delayed or had limited access to healthcare.

“Some hearts are a challenge to operate on,” he noted. “But with the advancements, we have more devices and newer techniques to help people successfully get through their operations. And here at Baystate Health, we are at the forefront of these advancements with renowned experts widely viewed as leaders in the field, especially when it comes to bypass surgery and enhanced recovery after open-heart surgery.”

Saadat said there has been a strong focus on enhanced recovery for patients. Surgery patients are up and moving within a day and are going home much sooner, greatly decreasing their recovery time and allowing patients to get back to their everyday lives.

“We’re doing so many minimally invasive procedures that don’t require cutting through the chest any longer to fix tight or leaking heart valves. We’re also providing artificial heart pumps to patients with heart failure and seeing great results, keeping them out of the hospital and home, enjoying time with their families and friends. It’s all about improving our patients’ health and quality of life after surgery.”

Saadat noted that strides are being made in all aspects of heart surgery, from bypass to dysfunctional valves to heart failure to arrhythmias.

“We’re taking care of as many sick hearts as we can while making great advancements to provide for patients who previously may not have been able to successfully undergo open-heart surgery,” he said. “We’re very proud of the progress we’ve made.”

February is American Heart Month, a time to shine a spotlight on heart disease, the number-one killer of Americans, when all people can focus on their cardiovascular health and address their risk factors for the disease.

Saadat, will lead a lecture on the latest advances in cardiac surgery on Sunday, Feb. 5, at noon, and will answer questions after the lecture. Registration is required; to register, visit baystatehealth.org/heart, which also provided information about Baystate’s life-saving cardiac capabilities.