Structural Heart and Valvular Disease CLINC

West Michigan Cardiology developed the first structural heart and valvular disease program in West Michigan. Our physicians performed the first transcatheter aortic and mitral valve replacements in 2012 at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital. This clinic is managed by Dr. Marok and Andra Talaska PA-C.

Dr. Marok is the director of West Michigan Cardiology’s structural heart and valvular disease clinic. He pioneered a minimally invasive, ICE (intra-cardiac echo)-guided left atrial appendage closure program in Grand Rapids and initiated a same-day-discharge program for left atrial appendage closure patients. Dr. Marok is also the highest volume implanter of left atrial appendage closure devices in the state of Michigan.

Rajinder Marok, MD

Andra Talaska PA-C

Structural Heart Procedures

  • Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) using WATCHMAN / AMULET DEVICES

    Left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion devices like WATCHMAN and AMULET are designed to allow patients who suffer from atrial fibrillation the freedom to stop taking oral anticoagulation medications without increasing their risk of stroke.

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  • Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

    Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive technique that replaces a dysfunctional aortic valve that is either severely stenotic (narrowed) or with severe insufficiency (leaking) without having to go through open heart surgery.

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  • Minimally invasive mitral valve repair

    Minimally invasive miitral valve repair using the Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge repair (TEER) Abbott MitraClip device Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair (TMVR) for degenerated bio-prosthetic mitral valves without having to go through open heart surgery.

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  • Patent Foramen Ovale / Atrial Septal Defect / ventricular septal defect

    Patent Foramen Ovale / Atrial Septal Defect / Ventricular Septal Defect closure using a minimally invasive approach using the Amplatzer device uses a percutaneous approach to close abnormal connections between heart chambers that could otherwise lead to problems like stroke or heart failure.

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  • Balloon Valvuloplasty

    Balloon valvuloplasty is a minimally invasive approach to improve aortic valve stenosis, mitral valve stenosis, pulmonic valve stenosis, and tricuspid valve stenosis without having to go through open heart surgery.

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