Mitral Valve Issues
It is a delight to be a part of this scientific and clinical era and to observe and benefit from how science and technology can be focused on life-saving advances - Barry L Zaret MD
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A Doctor-Patient Special Anniversary
On a recent brisk fall day last year LG and I celebrated the fortieth anniversary of our clinical journey together as patient and doctor. When we initially met in 1974, LG was a young married woman whose heart had been damaged by rheumatic fever leading to narrowing of her mitral valve (mitral stenosis). At the time, I was a new assistant professor and cardiologist at Yale University School of Medicine and Yale-New Haven Medical Center. I have remained at Yale for my entire career, rising in the ranks, serving as Chief of Cardiology for 26 years. Today I continue to teach and see patients like L.G.
In our over 40 year doctor-patient relationship, LG has undergone two major open heart…
Resources
Managing mitral valve disease: Progress and promise
Operations to fix faulty mitral valves are on the rise. But less invasive nonsurgical strategies are under development.
Tiny Device Is a ‘Huge Advance’ for Treatment of Severe Heart Failure
A clip used to repair damaged heart valves sharply reduced deaths among patients with a grim prognosis.
Early Experience With Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement
Transcatheter mitral valve replacement might evolve into an acceptable alternative for patients with severe mitral regurgitation or calcific stenosis of native mitral valves who are not candidates for conventional mitral valve surgery. However, this field is at a very early stage, and progress will be significantly slower than the development of TAVR due to the complexity of the mitral valve anatomy and its pathology.
Heart-Valve Problem May Have a New Cure
Researchers are closing in on techniques to fix the most common valve problem in the heart without having to resort to open-heart surgery.
Is Mitral Valve Repair Superior to Mitral Valve Replacement in Elderly Patients?
Because of demographic changes, a growing number of elderly patients present with mitral valve (MV) disease. Although mitral valve repair (MV‐repair) is the “gold standard” treatment for MV disease, in elderly patients, there is controversy about whether MV‐repair is superior to mitral valve replacement. We reviewed results after MV surgery in elderly patients treated over the past 20 years.
Mitral Valve Disease: 6 Best Options If You Can’t Have Major Surgery
While mitral valve disease can lead to severe heart failure, it can often be solved with open surgery. But, what if you are unable to undergo major surgery because of other health issues?
Repair or Replace: What’s The Best Way To Treat Mitral Valve Disease?
When possible, physicians try to repair valves before replacing them, preserving your own heart tissue. And in comparison to replacements, repairs have several benefits...
A Doctor-Patient Special Anniversary
In our over 40 year doctor-patient relationship, LG has undergone two major open heart surgeries, initially to repair and then to replace her mitral valve...
Living with MVP
A story from a Mitral Valve Prolapse Patient.
MitraClip
The MitraClip system is a catheter-based therapy intended to reduce mitral regurgitation (MR). This less-invasive mitral valve repair therapy is adapted from the open surgical double-orifice technique, and increases the options for select MR patients, may reduce the symptoms of heart failure (HF), and may improve quality of life.
Mitral Valve Repair Center
The Mitral Valve Repair Reference Center at The Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the most advanced in the country. The superiority of mitral valve repair over mitral valve replacement with a mechanical or bioprosthetic valve is well established. The
HeartValveSurgery.com
While it is sometimes not necessary to perform any type of procedure to correct a stenotic valve, there are numerous options that can be used. The precise procedure -- either mitral valve repair or mitral valve replacement -- will depend on the patent's overall health and the severity of the damage.
NHS
The most common cause of mitral valve stenosis in adults is rheumatic fever, which can occur five to 10 years before the heart valve problems began. Rheumatic fever causes the valve to become inflamed (swollen), and over time the flaps of the inflamed valve stick together and become scarred, rigid and thickened. Rarer causes of mitral valve stenosis include calcium deposits forming around the valve, radiation treatment to the chest and some medications. Mitral valve stenosis may not cause any symptoms, but common warning signs include shortness of breath and an abnormally fast heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation).
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