Structural Heart
Health professional information
Clinical service overview
The Alfred Structural Heart Program is a team of specialised doctors, nurses, cardiac physiologists and radiographers. The program began in 1995, initially with early transcatheter heart procedures, and then the team went on to become pioneers of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation starting in 2008, and completing their 1000th case in 2022, to all patients with aortic stenosis. The program is now one of the most comprehensive and largest structural heart programs in Australia, extending across the full spectrum of transcatheter cardiovascular therapies.
The program is led by one of Australia’s most experienced structural heart specialists, Prof Tony Walton, along with Prof Dion Stub, Dr. Shane Nanayakkara, A/Prof Sonny Palmer, Mr. Adam Zimmet and Dr Nay Min Htun, and Dr. Samer Noaman.
The program offers assessment and treatment of patients with a wide range of structural heart conditions including valvular heart diseases and non-coronary cardiac defects, and congenital abnormalities. We also offer an extensive range of transcatheter interventional procedures and are involved in international clinical trials for new and novel treatment devices. Patients undergo a comprehensive assessment and imaging including transthoracic echo, cardiac CT imaging and coronary angiogram.
We aim to continue being leaders and innovators in structural heart treatments and are committed to improving patients’ lives and providing the latest and highest quality of care to all our patients with structural heart conditions.
We also aim to continue being leaders and innovators in structural heart treatments through excellence in research. The Structural Heart program has consistently made a significant academic contribution with international medical publications, conferences presentations and involvement in international clinical trials.
Conditions, tests and treatments
Conditions assessed
- Valve stenosis and regurgitation
- Bioprosthetic valve failure
- Septal defects and congenital abnormalities
- Hypertension
Investigations available
- Transthoracic Echocardiogram (TTE)
- Transoesophageal Echocardiogram (TOE)
- Dobutamine Stress Echocardiogram (DSE)
- Coronary angiogram
- Peripheral angiogram
- Cardiac CT scan
- Electrocardiogram (ECG)
- Blood tests
Treatment procedures available
- Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)
- Transcatheter edge to edge repair of the mitral and tricuspid valve (mTEER and tTEER)
- Balloon aortic and mitral valvuloplasty
- Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR)
- Bioprosthetic valve paravalvular leak closures
- Atrial septal defect (ASD) / patent foramen ovale (PFO), Ventricular septal defect closures (VSD)
- Left atrial appendage device occlusion (LAAO)
- Renal denervation for hypertension
- New and novel devices and cardiac technologies in international clinical research trials
Refer your patient
Fax referral to us
We accept GP and specialist referrals to this service.
All referrals are triaged by the service according to clinical urgency. Patients requiring immediate assessment should be sent to the Emergency & Trauma Centre.
To refer your patient, complete and fax a referral to us. For urgent referrals, also contact the service Registrar to discuss the case.
To ensure appropriate and timely triage, include all demographic and clinical details as well as relevant investigation results.
If you are concerned about any delay of the appointment or if there is any deterioration in your patient’s condition, contact the service Registrar on call on (03) 9076 2000.
(03) 9076 2025
(03) 9076 6938
(03) 9076 7362
Special referral instructions
Support and coordination of comprehensive imaging including transthoracic echo, cardiac CT imaging and coronary angiogram is facilitated by a dedicated Structural Heart Nurse Coordinator.
Our clinics
| Clinic name | Campus | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Structural Heart Clinic | The Alfred | 55 Commercial Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004 |
MBS-billed service
On the doctor’s behalf, Alfred Health can bulk bill the cost of the consultation for some services through Medicare. This means there is no out of pocket expense to the patient.
MBS-billed services require a current referral. Provide your patient with a 12 month referral to see the specialist of your choice at the requested clinic.
Referrals must be addressed to a named specialist or the Head of service, listed at the top of this page. Clinic consultants are listed on every clinic page.
Note that from time to time, your patient may be seen by another specialist in the clinic, in order to expedite their treatment.
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