Mario Goessl, MD, PhD

While many people are familiar with heart disease and heart attacks, there’s another serious heart condition that impacts more than 5 million Americans, half of whom are age 65 and older. It’s called valvular heart disease (VHD), and it occurs when the heart valves do not work properly to keep blood flowing through the heart.

Left untreated, heart valve disease can cause heart attacks, irregular heart rhythms, congestive heart failure and other heart conditions, significantly impacting a person’s quality of life and potentially leading to an untimely death.

To help older adults in New Ulm and the surrounding area determine if they might already have heart valve disease and not be aware of it, the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (MHIF), in partnership with Hearts Beat Back: The Heart of New Ulm Project (HONU) and New Ulm Medical Center (NUMC), part of Allina Health, will be conducting free heart valve disease screenings for eligible adults age 65 and older. The screenings, funded by the Abbott Northwestern Hospital Foundation, are part of a new MHIF research project and will be will be conducted in the NUMC clinic on select Saturdays throughout 2019.

“Many people who have heart valve disease are not aware of it, either because they have no symptoms, or because they assume the lack of energy and shortness of breath they experience are just part of aging,” said NUMC primary provider care provider and Medical Direct Stephen Gilles, MD. “If heart valve diseases goes undetected, it can impact your heart’s ability to pump blood, which requires repair or replacement. Unfortunately, as heart valve disease progresses, many patients become too sick for surgery to repair or replace the affected valve.”

“The goal for this screening study is to bring public awareness to valvular heart disease, detect it earlier and help more older adults in our community get the treatment they need to live longer, healthier and happier lives,” said Mario Goessl, MD, PhD, Director of Transcatheter Research and Education and Co-chair for the MHI/MHIF Valve Science Center.

New Ulm was chosen for this study, said Gretchen Benson, RD, CDE, Population Health Program Manager for MHIF, because of the enthusiastic response the community showed to the HONU Project. “This community really shows up,” she said.

Adults age 65 and older who are eligible for the heart valve disease screenings will receive a letter from their primary care provider at NUMC inviting them to register and attend a free screening in the community, which will take approximately 15 to 30 minutes. The goal is to screen at least 2,500 people.

All participants will be asked to complete a brief demographic and lifestyle questionnaire, have their height, weight and blood pressure measured, and then be examined using a handheld portable echocardiography device. The device is harmless and uses sound waves that are changed into pictures viewed on a video monitor to help detect if the heart valves are working correctly. All individuals will receive an educational booklet with information about valve disease and actions they can take should they be diagnosed with mild, moderate or severe valve disease.

“We don’t really understand the prevalence of undiagnosed VHD,” Goessl said. “There has only been one recent study, which was done in Europe. This will be the first prospective population VHD screening study done in the United States.”

To learn more, visit wellness.allinahealth.org/events/58718 or call toll-free 1-877-800-2729 and select option #4 to schedule your screening visit. Leave your name and telephone number on the voicemail, and someone will return your call in 24-48 hours to schedule your visit.