Heart Valve Program

Aortic stenosis, or narrowing of the aortic valve, is a common but serious heart condition that reduces blood flow out of your heart. There are multiple causes of aortic stenosis, including congenital heart defects, calcification of the valve and infection. If severe and left untreated, aortic stenosis can weaken your heart and lead to heart failure. Aortic stenosis is treatable, and options include:

• Surgical aortic valve replacement
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement
• The Ross procedure
• Current clinical trials for patients with aortic stenosis

Aortic regurgitation occurs when your aortic valve does not seal properly, allowing blood to flow backwards into your heart as it relaxes. This can cause pressure and fluid to build up in your heart and lungs, which can eventually cause heart failure. The aortic valve can start leaking for multiple reasons, including enlargement of the aorta itself (aortic aneurysm) and infection. Aortic regurgitation is treatable, and some options include:

• Aortic valve replacement
• Valve-sparing aortic root replacement
• Alternatives to valve replacement (Ross, Ozaki)

Calcium build-up, infection and congenital heart defects can cause the mitral valve to open incompletely. This condition, mitral stenosis, can increase the blood pressure in your heart and lungs, leading to difficulty breathing and abnormal heart rhythms. Depending on a patient’s individual history and valve anatomy, The Heart Valve Program team can often treat mitral stenosis with a catheter-based procedure, however valve replacement may also be required. Some options include:

• Balloon mitral valvuloplasty
• Mitral valve replacement

When the mitral valve fails to close and seal completely, blood flows backwards inside of the heart instead of out to your body. This condition, known as mitral valve regurgitation (or mitral insufficiency), is one of the most common forms of heart valve disease. Severe mitral valve regurgitation can cause the heart to enlarge over time and pump blood less effectively. As a result, patients can develop heart failure or abnormal heart rhythms and experience symptoms such as shortness of breath. Members of the Heart Valve Program offer multiple ways to treat mitral regurgitation, including:

• Mitral valve repair
  • Minimally invasive mitral valve repair
• Mitral valve replacement
• Current clinical trials for patients with mitral valve disease
  • Apollo, CLASP, REPAIR MR

Tricuspid valve disease can cause the valve to either open or close incorrectly. This can happen due to a primary problem with the valve itself or as a result of problems with other heart valves. Tricuspid valve disease can cause your body to accumulate fluid and can eventually cause liver and other organ damage. Tricuspid valve disease was treated with medications alone for many years, but we are beginning to learn that aggressively treating tricuspid valve disease with surgery or transcatheter procedures may improve patients’ symptoms. Members of the Heart Valve Program offer several different ways to teat tricuspid valve disease (see below) and are actively enrolling patients in clinical trials focused on the tricuspid valve.

• Tricuspid valve repair
• Tricuspid valve replacement
• Current clinical trials for patients with tricuspid valve disease
  • CLASP-IITR, TRISCEND

Pulmonic valve disease usually occurs due to congenital heart problems (heart disease you are born with) or infection. Consequently, pulmonic valve disease should be cared for by surgeons and cardiologists with experience in congenital heart disease. Members of the Heart Valve Program include world leaders in the management of adult congenital heart disease and offer multiple options for treating the pulmonic valve. Some options may include: 

• Surgical pulmonic valve replacement
• Transcatheter pulmonic valve replacement
• Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program