Danny Hierholzer was the 1,000th patient to have a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Before his procedure, Hierholzer, 72, was suffering from symptoms associated with severe aortic valve stenosis, in severe cases, it can lead to heart failure and sudden cardiac death. Rather than undergoing open-heart surgery, Hierholzer received a new, artificial valve through the much less invasive TAVR procedure, a catheter-based treatment alternative to replace leaking or narrowed heart valves. With the minimally invasive procedure, patients do not have to endure a long incision through the breastbone or be put on a heart-lung bypass machine. Previously, TAVR was approved only for patients deemed too sick or high-risk for open-heart surgery. In the past year, the FDA approved the procedure for low-risk patients, increasing the number of heart patients who qualify for the life-saving treatment. More than 90 percent of SMH’s patients undergo TAVR under conscious sedation and do not require an ICU stay. A few hours after his procedure, Hierholzer was joking and looking forward to going home the next day.