FREE Ask The Experts Presentation

Media Contact: Karina Rusk
831-759-1843

Heart Month

FREE Ask The Experts Presentation

SALINAS, CA, February 13, 2019- The time to learn about heart care and heart procedures is before you need that specialty care. February Heart Month Ask The Experts by Salinas Valley Health offers the community life saving information. The free community event on Thursday, February 21 is a unique evening that will demonstrate what happens when a 911 call launches our cardiac team into action. Guests will feel as if they are in the operating room as they witness physicians performing highly advanced, minimally invasive, lifesaving procedures currently being performed at Salinas Valley Health Medical Center.

“Advancements in technology are making it easier for people in fragile health to undergo certain cardiac procedures,” says Pete Delgado, President/CEO of Salinas Valley Health. “At our Ask The Experts event, guests will see our physicians in action demonstrating minimally invasive lifesaving techniques. They will feel as if they are part of our cardiac team while learning the steps and techniques involved.”

Board certified physicians Patrik Zetterlund, MD, FACC, Vincent DeFilippi, MD, FACS and Richard Gerber, MD, FACC are the featured speakers at this Heart Health forum. The physicians will demonstrate how the Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) and the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedures are performed and explain who is best suited for these treatments.

“Our guests will see a live demonstration of how Dr. Patrik Zetterland and I perform a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in the cardiac catheterization lab,” says Vincent DeFilippi, MD, FACS. “It’s a minimally invasive procedure for people with severe aortic stenosis. It drastically improves recovery time and quality of life.”

Kassi Lippke, an exercise physiologist at Salinas Valley Health’s Salinas Valley Health Cardiac Wellness will round out the panel presentations. Lippke will focus on the type of care and support cardiac patients need and most people can benefit from practicing on their own.

During the reception hour prior to the main program cardiac electrophysiologist Yuji Saito, MD, PhD, FACP, FACC will perform an interactive presentation on the implantation of The Watchman devise which reduces the risk of strokes that originate in the left atrial appendage. Salinas Valley Health is the only medical center in Monterey County offering this minimally invasive procedure which reduces a person’s risk for stroke and can eliminate the need for blood thinners.

The Ask the Experts The Heart of Innovative Care presentation will take place Thursday, February 21. Doors open at 5:30pm with an interactive hour of presentations. There will be healthy appetizers and a health information fair. The free event takes place at the Salinas Valley Health Advanced Imaging located at 5 Lower Ragsdale in Monterey. Seating is limited. RSVP is required. To register visit svmh.com/asktheexperts or call 831-759-1890. Spanish language interpreter and listening equipment available upon request when registering.