Local Banner doctor is the first to utilize new heart value procedure

A life-changing treatment is coming for thousands of heart patients across the country. Dr. Paul Sorajja, an interventional cardiologist at Banner, received FDA approval of a device that can replace damaged heart valves in patients who were previously considered too sick for surgery.

It’s a gamechanger for thousands of heart patients who were previously told nothing could be done for their condition. He is the first doctor in the world to use a specialized mitral device, Tendyne, to treat a patient with severe mitral annular calcification (MAC) – a condition where dangerous calcium buildup around the heart valve makes traditional surgery life-threatening.

Dr. Paul Sorajja, a cardiologist at Banner-University Medical Center Phoenix joined “Arizona Horizon” to talk more about this new procedure.