A team of cardiologists at Cooper and Inspira Cardiac Care recently became the first in the region to implant the EVOQUE tricuspid valve replacement system, the first transcatheter therapy to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation.

The procedure took place at Cooper University Hospital in Camden.

Tricuspid regurgitation, also known as tricuspid valve regurgitation, is a heart valve disease that occurs when the tricuspid valve doesn’t close properly. The tricuspid valve controls blood flow from the heart’s right atrium to the right ventricle. When the valve doesn’t close tightly enough, blood can leak backward into the atrium, making the heart work harder to pump blood.

Dr. Sajjad Sabir, director of the Structural Heart Program at Cooper, and a member of Cooper and Inspira Cardiac Care, said these patients often have no other treatment options.

“For patients suffering with tricuspid valve disease, their quality of life is compromised, and their overall survival is reduced,” he said. “This valve disease is the most undertreated due to high surgical risk. Therefore, there is a clear need for non-surgical treatment options for these patients and the EVOQUE system is the first of its kind.”

Since its inception in 2011, the Structural Heart Program at Cooper has earned a regional reputation for excellent outcomes. The program has led the way in clinical trials that have advanced minimally invasive and catheter-based procedures for patients with moderate to severe structural heart disease. Cooper continues to grow the Structural Heart Program, ensuring it remains the region’s leading program. The EVOQUE system as an option for patient care furthers that mission.

“Cooper is among the select few hospitals in the country and the only hospital in the Philadelphia region to provide this commercially approved treatment option for our patients,” Sabir said.

Dr. Phillip Koren, medical director at Cooper Heart Institute and Cooper and Inspira Cardiac Care, said the impact is great.

“We want heart patients in our region to have the best and most advanced technology available to them right here, close to home in their own backyard,” he said.  “We are dedicated to providing that care right here in South Jersey.”