Structural Heart Valve Clinic: TAVI, MitraClip, TriClip and Mitral Valve-in-Valve Program

• TAVI Education Booklet 
• MitraClip Education Booklet 
• TriClip Education Booklet 
• My Surgery Guide
• Patient and Family Learning Centers

Resources from the Patient & Family Education Program

Visit our Health Information section to find dedicated resources to help you understand your condition. Find the information you're looking for.

If you are reading this, you have likely been referred by your cardiologist or family doctor to the Toronto General Hospital's Heart Valve Program to assess your aortic valve disease.

Once the TAVI office receives your referral, the nurse coordinator will review it with the heart team and will then touch base with you to speak about the next steps.

The TAVI office will be helping the heart team at Toronto General Hospital to schedule the necessary testing and appointments required as part of your pre-procedure work-up. We will contact you with information as these appointments are arranged. Please refer to the education booklet for required testing and clinic appointment descriptions for more information. These are not done in any particular order.

During this time, you may be contacted by a member of the pre-habilitation team to discuss steps that can be taken prior to the procedure to help speed up your recovery.

When your appointments are completed your results will be reviewed by the heart team to decide on the best plan of care for you. This will be one of three options: TAVI procedure, open heart surgery or medical management. The work-up phase may take 1-3 months to complete.

• Referral and Pre-TAVI Appointments
• Your plan of care and TAVI Procedure
• After Your TAVI procedure
• More Information

Referral and Pre-TAVI Appointments

What can you do now?

Register for myUHN Patient Portal

• Please register yourself or have a family member/friend help register you for the myUHN patient portal if you have not done so already. The activation link was sent to the email address on file at UHN and will be active for 24 hours.
• This will allow you to view your upcoming appointments, test results and have information sent to you from our office.
• Please follow the prompts once registered to update your allergies, your doctor's information and how you would like the information sent to you (text/email/phone call).
• If you have any issues please email the myUHN help desk at myUHN@uhn.ca or call the help desk at 416 340 3777.

Educate yourself on your Aortic Stenosis diagnosis

• Please use the link below and read the TAVI education booklet thoroughly. This will review the entire process from the time we receive your referral to post-TAVI procedure information:
  http://www.uhn.ca/PatientsFamilies/Health_Information/Health_Topics/Documents/TAVI_Trans-catheter_Aortic_Valve_Implant.pdf
• Write down any questions you have and contact the TAVI Office to set up a time to review.
• Please let us know if you would like this information mailed to you at any time.

See your Dentist

• Your TAVI nurse coordinator will have sent a dental clearance letter to you upon first contact to have filled out by your dentist prior to your TAVI procedure.
• If you do not have any teeth, the letter is not required.
• The dental clearance form is mandatory. It is very important that you do not have any active infection in your mouth, as this may spread to your new heart valve.

Plan of Care and TAVI Procedure

• The TAVI nurse Coordinator will contact you and discuss the outcome of the heart team's decision about your care. If the heart team feels you are best suited for a TAVI procedure, then the nurse coordinator will help to schedule your TAVI procedure.
• You will be offered the first available date for your procedure.
• If you would like a specific doctor to perform your procedure, please let the office know at that time.
• Once your TAVI procedure is formally booked, the nurse coordinator will send you the written instructions for you to review and prepare:
  • This will include when to hold your blood thinner medication
  • When and where your pre-admission clinic appointment is scheduled
  • When and where your TVAI procedure is scheduled
  • What to expect before, during and after your TAVI procedure
  • Important contact numbers
  • Maps to all appointments
  • Extra information

After Your TAVI Procedure

Discharge instructions

• The cardiologist or nurse practitioner in the cardiac ward will review and provide you with written discharge instructions specifically for you before you leave the hospital. Your instructions will include all of the things you should do and not do when you go home or to your next place of residence.
• Please make sure you read and understand the discharge instructions before you leave the hospital:
  • This will include information about heavy lifting, driving and when to follow up with your regular cardiologist.
• Please review the TAVI education booklet for more information.

Going home

• Please arrange for an adult, such as a relative or friend to:
  • Pick you up from the hospital and drive you home or to your next place of residence.
  • Stay with you or you with them for a few days until you are comfortable doing your normal activities.
• You may be discharged from the hospital on the same day as your TAVI procedure.
  • If you do not live in Toronto please have a hotel booked nearby in case you need to come back during that first night.
  • You may be going home the following day if you feel well enough.
• In case you do have to stay overnight please bring an overnight bag of whatever you wish to have with you. Do not bring valuables, jewelry or money.
• If you are flying home, the earliest you can fly is 48 hours after your TAVI procedure. You must have someone to drive you home and stay with you at least two days after your procedure.
• If you have no one to help and you would like to see a Social Worker during your Pre-Admission visit, please call 416 340 4800 ext. 6153 to arrange.

Follow-up

• Please book an appointment with your family doctor for a follow-up appointment one week after your TAVI procedure. This is only meant to be used if needed and can be cancelled if you have no concerns post-procedure.
• Your referring cardiologist will be booking an appointment to meet with you 1-2 months after your TAVI procedure. Please follow up with them to ensure they have scheduled this for you.
• If you do not have a referring cardiologist or have any issues after your TAVI procedure we are happy to book you with one of the TAVI doctors. Please call our office to arrange.

Other things to remember

• When you leave the hospital you will receive a small piece of paper with your discharge instructions detailing your new valve type, size and implantation date. In 3 – 6 months you will receive an official card from the valve company with all the information needed to show your health care providers. In 6 months time if you have not received your card please reach out to our office and we can contact the company on your behalf.
• Please let your dentist know that you have a new heart valve. They will need to prescribe you prophylactic antibiotics prior to each dental visit from this point forward.

More information

• Please use these maps to help navigate your way to your appointments:
• Echo Lab (Transthoracic Echocardiogram)
• Medical Imaging (Cardiac CT scan)
• Pre-admission Clinic
• Surgical admission Clinic

• Please contact our office if you need help with:
• Wheelchair access at Toronto General Hospital
• Help to get to your appointments
• Quality improvement initiatives (optional)

• Please use the following links for more information:
• Getting to our Hospital
• Parking information
• Wheel-Trans
• Accessibility
• Communication Assistance
• Places to stay
• In-Hospital Amenities
• Heart healthy diet
• UHN Covid visitor protocols​
  

If you are reading this, you have likely been referred by your cardiologist or family doctor to the Toronto General Hospital's Heart Valve Program to assess your Mitral valve disease.

Once the MitraClip office receives your referral, the nurse coordinator will review it with the heart team and will then touch base with you to speak about the next steps.

The MitraClip office will be helping the heart team at Toronto General Hospital to schedule the necessary testing and appointments required as part of your pre-procedure work-up. We will contact you with information as these appointments are arranged. Please refer to the education booklet for required testing and clinic appointment descriptions for more information. These are not done in any particular order.

When your appointments are completed your results will be reviewed by the heart team to decide on the best plan of care for you. This will be one of three options: MitraClip procedure, open heart surgery or medical management. The work-up phase may take 1-3 months to complete.

• Referral and Pre-MitraClip Appointments
• Plan of Care and MitraClip Procedure
• After Your MitraClip Procedure
• More Information
  

Referral and Pre-MitraClip Appointments

What can you do now?

Register for myUHN Patient Portal

• Please register yourself or have a family member/friend help register you for the myUHN patient portal if you have not done so already. The activation link was sent to the email address on file at UHN and will be active for 24 hours.
• This will allow you to view your upcoming appointments, test results and have information sent to you from our office.
• Please follow the prompts once registered to update your allergies, your doctor's information and how you would like the information sent to you (text/email/phone call).
• If you have any issues please email the myUHN help desk at myUHN@uhn.ca or call the help desk at 416 340 3777.

Educate yourself on your Mitral Regurgitation diagnosis

• Please use the link below and read the MitraClip education booklet thoroughly. This will review the entire process from the time we receive your referral to post MitraClip procedure information:
  http://www.uhn.ca/PatientsFamilies/Health_Information/Health_Topics/Documents/MitraClip_Procedure_Mitral_Valve_Regurgitation.pdf
• Write down any questions you have and contact the MitraClip Office to set up a time to review.
• Please let us know if you would like this information mailed to you at any time.

Plan of Care and MitraClip Procedure

• The MitraClip nurse Coordinator will contact you and discuss the outcome of the heart team's decision about your care. If the heart team feels you are best suited for a MitraClip procedure, then the nurse coordinator will help to schedule your MitraClip procedure.
• You will be offered the first available date for your procedure.
• Once your MitraClip procedure is formally booked, the nurse coordinator will send you the written instructions for you to review and prepare:
  • This will include when to hold your blood thinner medication
  • When and where your pre-admission clinic appointment is scheduled
  • When and where your MitraClip procedure is scheduled
  • What to expect before, during and after your MitraClip procedure
  • Important contact numbers
  • Maps to all appointments
  • Extra information

After Your MitraClip Procedure

Discharge instructions

• The cardiologist or nurse practitioner in the cardiac ward will review and provide you with written discharge instructions specifically for you before you leave the hospital. Your instructions will include all of the things you should do and not do when you go home or to your next place of residence.
• Please make sure you read and understand the discharge instructions before you leave the hospital:
  • This will include information about heavy lifting, driving and when to follow up with your regular cardiologist.
• Please review the MitraClip education booklet for more information.

Going home

• Please arrange for an adult, such as a relative or friend to:
  • Pick you up from the hospital and drive you home or to your next place of residence.
  • Stay with you or you with them for a few days until you are comfortable doing your normal activities.
• You may be discharged from the hospital on the same day as your MitraClip procedure.
  • If you do not live in Toronto please have a hotel booked nearby in case you need to come back during that first night.
  • You may be going home the following day if you feel well enough.
• In case you do have to stay overnight please bring an overnight bag of whatever you wish to have with you. Do not bring valuables, jewelry or money.
• If you are flying home, the earliest you can fly is 48 hours after your MitraClip procedure. You must have someone to drive you home and stay with you at least two days after your procedure.
• If you have no one to help and you would like to see a Social Worker during your Pre-Admission visit, please call 416 340 4800 ext. 6153 to arrange.

Follow-up

• Please book an appointment with your family doctor for a follow-up appointment one week after your MitraClip procedure. This is only meant to be used only if needed and can be cancelled if you have no concerns post-procedure.
• Your referring cardiologist will be booking an appointment to meet with you 1-2 months after your MitraClip procedure.
• If you do not have a referring cardiologist or have any issues after your MitraClip procedure we are happy to book you with one of the MitraClip doctors. Please call 416 340 4800 ext. 6153 to arrange.

More information

• Please use these maps to help navigate your way to your appointments:
• Echo Lab (Transthoracic Echocardiogram)
• Medical Imaging (Cardiac CT scan)
• Pre-admission Clinic
• Surgical admission Clinic

• Please contact our office if you need help with:
• Wheelchair access at Toronto General Hospital
• Help to get to your appointments
• Quality improvement initiatives (optional)

• Please use the following links for more information:
• Getting to our Hospital
• Parking information
• Wheel-Trans
• Accessibility
• Communication Assistance
• Places to stay
• In-Hospital Amenities
• Heart healthy diet
• UHN Covid visitor protocols