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Every Month is Heart Month: A CVOR Nurse's Perspective

Writer's picture: Lindsey Joyce, MSN, RN, CNL, CNORLindsey Joyce, MSN, RN, CNL, CNOR
Feb 242 min read

February is National Heart Month. As a CVOR nurse, every month is Heart Month for me! Last year, my facility performed approximately 550 open-heart cardiac surgeries. We also completed 150 transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures, along with about 100 thoracic procedures, ECMOs, and countless pacemaker insertions. For a CVOR with three rooms, three surgeons, and a team of thirty professionals, that’s not too shabby! However, those numbers are expected to be even higher this year.


We’re not the only ones seeing this increase. Cardiac programs—big and small—across the country are experiencing similar trends in their ORs.


Each year, cardiac surgeries in the United States exceed 900,000 procedures. (Source) By 2029, that number is projected to reach nearly 1.3 million. With only 5,200 cardiothoracic surgeons in the country, what procedures are they actually performing?


The most common and gold-standard procedure is Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG), but there are many other cardiac procedures, including:

  • Valve surgery (Aortic, Mitral, Tricuspid) repair or replacement

  • Aneurysm repairs

  • Septal myectomy

  • MAZE-COX procedure for atrial fibrillation (A-Fib)

  • Implantable cardiac devices such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), and right/left ventricular assist devices (RVADs/LVADs)

  • Heart transplants


Included in the 900,000 cardiac procedures, surgeons perform approximately 106,000 heart valve procedures each year. These surgeries repair or replace the mitral or aortic valve. With 1.2 million adults over 65 having calcified aortic valves, the number of valve surgeries will only increase as the population ages.


Unfortunately, not all patients are candidates for traditional aortic valve replacement.


However, in 2011, the FDA approved the first devices in the United States for a minimally invasive procedure called the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR). This procedure, which can be performed under moderate sedation, involves both a cardiologist and a cardiac surgeon. Small punctures are made in the groin, and using wires and catheters, the new valve is guided through the femoral artery into the heart. It’s a great alternative to traditional surgery!

Another significant cardiac procedure is the repair of ascending aortic aneurysms, which occur in approximately 10 out of 100,000 people each year. These aneurysms can be repaired using a synthetic graft, usually made of Dacron. While most cardiac surgical patients are adults, pediatric patients also undergo these procedures. Each year, about 400,000 babies are born with congenital heart defects that must be repaired. (Source)


The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) maintains a national database that serves as a benchmark for cardiac surgery across the country. It logs nearly 10 million procedures performed by 4,300 surgeons, covering 95% of adult cardiac surgeries.


Check out the STS database for more information on cardiac procedures. And remember, while I would definitely take great care of you if you found yourself in my OR needing a new valve or a bypass, I'd much rather see you living an active, healthy lifestyle with a healthy heart! So take care of your heart - this month and every month!!


Until next time,

Lindsey Joyce


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