Published: December 11, 2025 | Updated: December 26, 2025
Norton Heart & Vascular Institute specialists made history on Tuesday, Dec. 9, as they performed a first-of-its-kind transcatheter tricuspid heart valve replacement, offering new hope for patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation.
This is the first use of the EVOQUE tricuspid valve replacement system in Kentucky. It’s a minimally invasive procedure designed for patients with debilitating tricuspid regurgitation. Left untreated, this can lead to heart failure, liver congestion and reduced quality of life.
Tricuspid regurgitation happens when the tricuspid valve, located between the right atrium and right ventricle in the heart, fails to close properly during heart contractions. It causes blood to leak backward into the right atrium, increasing pressure and volume in the right side of the heart. Over time, it can result in right-sided heart failure.
“Up to 80% of people can have some degree of tricuspid regurgitation,” said D. Sean Stewart, M.D., interventional cardiologist and system medical director, interventional and structural cardiology, Norton Heart & Vascular Institute. “Symptoms can be insidious, starting with fatigue and shortness of breath, but eventually develop to swelling of the feet and even pulsations in the neck.
“Previously, the only treatment for this condition was open heart surgery. Obviously, that’s an intense procedure with more risk,” Dr. Stewart said. “We try to reserve that for when people are undergoing additional procedures for other valvular heart abnormalities.”
Unlike traditional open heart surgery, this new approach is catheter-based, in which a small tube guides a replacement valve through a small incision in the groin and positions it inside the tricuspid valve. The technique can significantly reduce recovery time.
The EVOQUE system is the first transcatheter therapy to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of tricuspid regurgitation. It is for patients with symptomatic severe tricuspid regurgitation.
“This new tricuspid valve offers us the opportunity in those patients who have never had previous tricuspid intervention to undergo a full tricuspid valve replacement,” Dr. Stewart said. “It helps to substantially reduce their tricuspid regurgitation and substantially improve their symptoms and quality of life.”
Two of these procedures were successfully performed at Norton Heart & Vascular Institute on Dec. 9. It’s the first time the procedure has been offered in our region.
“This has been new technology that we’ve been pushing to bring to our community,” Dr. Stewart said. “We strive to be the leader in our community with new technologies.”
For more information about heart treatment options at Norton Heart & Vascular Institute, click here.