Sarasota Memorial chosen for heart study

SARASOTA — Sarasota Memorial Hospital is one of 75 sites in North America selected to participate in an experimental study to treat patients who seek an alternative to open-heart surgery.

The study focuses on a new minimally invasive treatment option available for select patients with mitral regurgitation. That's a common type of heart valve defect that affects one in 10 people more than 75 years old, according to a Sarasota Memorial release. The treatment option being studied is the use of the MitraClip, a valve repair device under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The device is commercially available in more than 30 countries.

Mitral regurgitation, the hospital says, occurs when the heart's mitral valve does not close completely. That causes blood to leak backward into the left atrium with every heartbeat. Mitral regurgitation also requires the heart to work harder to maintain an adequate forward flow of blood, says Dr. Ricardo Yaryura, medical director of Sarasota Memorial's cardiology services. Yaryura is the principal investigator of the study and his colleague, Dr. Michael Mumma, is the sub-investigator.

“We are very fortunate to be able to participate in this multicenter trial,” Yaryura says in the release. “It can be a life changing - potentially life saving - option for local patients suffering with severe mitral regurgitation.”