• MedStar Heart and Vascular Institute
  • Doctors
  • Appointments
  • Conditions & Treatments
  • Locations
  • Search
  • Menu
Don’t delay your care! Call 888-354-3422 to schedule a video visit with a specialist today!

Find a doctor or specialist that meet your needs

Need Help? Email [email protected]

Close Menu
    • Find a Doctor
    • Find a Location
    • Request an Appointment
 

Newsroom

For Patients

  • Conditions & Treatments
  • Programs and Services
  • Patient Resources
  • Why Choose Us
  • Ways to Give

For Medical Professionals

  • Careers
  • Educational Opportunities
  • Publications and Case Studies
  • Research
arrow_back Conditions & Treatments

Aortic Valve Repair and Replacement

Call for an appointment or referral
888-354-3422

email Email a Question
menu Aortic Valve Repair and Replacement
  • Overview
    • Conditions
    • Tests
    • Physicians
    • Locations
  • Overview arrow_forward
  • Conditions arrow_forward
  • Tests arrow_forward
  • Physicians arrow_forward
  • Locations arrow_forward

Treatment options to repair or replace the valve of your body’s main artery

Expert Heart & Vascular Care

Getting the care you need starts with seeing one of our heart or vascular specialists.

Request an Appointment

If medication and lifestyle changes aren’t enough to manage a problem with your aortic valve, your doctor may recommend repairing or replacing it. The surgeons in our Structural Heart Program are international leaders in continually developing better strategies to repair and replace aortic valves.

Along with traditional open surgical techniques, we offer five minimally invasive aortic valve replacement methods, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). We have been a site for every major clinical trial for this procedure since its initial 2007 study.

We also offer a relatively new technique known as valve sparing or valve preserving surgery for aortic root aneurysms. With this procedure, your surgeon can repair the aorta while preserving your own valve.

Our doctors meet daily to discuss and analyze all patients’ conditions based on the severity of their disease, age and overall health to determine the best treatment approach for their unique condition.

Aortic valve repair

Whenever possible, we prefer to repair the valve because it uses your own tissue, carries a lower risk of infection and reduces the need to take blood-thinning medications for the rest of your life as you would with some types of valve replacement.

Valve repair may be able to patch a hole in the valve’s flaps or reshape the flaps to allow the valve to open and close more effectively. Aortic valve repair is usually performed through traditional open-heart surgery and requires specific expertise, which you can find here.

Aortic valve replacement

If the damage to your aortic valve is severe and cannot be repaired, your doctor may recommend replacing it with one of two options:

  • Biological valves: These valves may be made from cow or pig tissue and supported with mechanical parts. Biological valves can last 15 to 20 years and do not require that you take blood-thinning medications. These valves often are recommended for elderly patients.
  • Mechanical valves: These valves may be made of plastic, carbon or metal and will require blood thinners to reduce the risk of stroke. These valves often are recommended for young adults because they last longer than a biological replacement.

Aortic valve replacement can be done through traditional open-heart surgery or through minimally invasive methods that:

  • Use a few small incisions instead of opening your chest
  • Access the heart by guiding a thin, flexible tube known as a catheter through a blood vessel in your leg

A Heart Patient Becomes a Mom

Joanna Zimmerman and her husband wanted to have a baby, but Joanna’s heart condition posed some unique challenges. Learn how we worked with her to grow her family and keep her heart healthy.

Watch Joanna’s Story

Conditions

Aortic Stenosis

Aortic stenosis, also known as aortic valve stenosis, is a narrowing of the aortic valve.

Aortic Valve Disease

Aortic valve disease is a type of heart valve disease that occurs when the valve between your aorta (the largest blood vessel) and the left ventricle (the heart’s main pumping chamber) doesn’t work as it should.

Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease

People with bicuspid aortic valve disease (BAVD) have an aortic valve made up of two flaps instead of three.

Takayasu’s Arteritis

Takayasu’s arteritis is the inflammation and damage of blood vessels that reduces blood flow through the body.

Tests

Angiogram (Angiography)

An angiogram is a special X-ray taken as a special dye is injected through a thin, flexible tube called a catheter to detect blockages or aneurysms in blood vessels.

Cardiac Catheterization

Cardiac catheterization is a minimally invasive way to diagnose and treat a variety of heart and vascular conditions by guiding thin, flexible tubes called catheters through blood vessels to problem areas.

Echocardiogram

An echocardiogram uses high-frequency sound waves to create images of your heart.

Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE)

Transesophageal echocardiogram allows us to take very detailed images of your heart structure from a probe in your esophagus.

Physicians

View all arrow_forward
9 Doctors & Specialists
Dr. Ricardo Orlando Quarrie, MD, MS
Dr. Ricardo Orlando Quarrie, MD, MS
Cardiac Surgery
3333 North Calvert Street Johnston Professional Building Baltimore, MD 21218
(410) 554-6550
View Profile
Request Appointment
Dr. Jeffrey E. Cohen, MD
Dr. Jeffrey E. Cohen, MD
Cardiac Surgery
110 Irving Street Northwest Suite NW Washington, DC 20010
202-877-7464
View Profile
Request Appointment
Dr. Ronak K. Patel, MD
Dr. Ronak K. Patel, MD
Cardiology
5601 Loch Raven Boulevard Russell Morgan Bldg Baltimore, MD 21239
View Profile
Request Appointment
Dr. Christian Charles Shults, MD
Dr. Christian Charles Shults, MD
Valvular Disease Cardiology | Structural Heart Disease Cardiology | Cardiac Surgery
(248)
1830 SUITE 405 Reston, VA 20190
(202) 877-7464
View Profile
Request Appointment
Dr. Michael Fiocco, MD
Dr. Michael Fiocco, MD
Valvular Disease Cardiology | Structural Heart Disease Cardiology | Cardiac Surgery
(158)
3333 North Calvert Street Johnston Professional Building Baltimore, MD 21218
(410) 554-6550
View Profile
Request Appointment
Dr. Hiroto Kitahara, MD
Dr. Hiroto Kitahara, MD
Cardiac Surgery
110 Irving Street Northwest Suite NW Washington, DC 20010
202-877-7464
View Profile
Request Appointment
Dr. Brian Thomas Bethea, MD
Dr. Brian Thomas Bethea, MD
Cardiac Surgery
3333 North Calvert Street Johnston Professional Building Baltimore, MD 21218
(410) 554-6550
View Profile
Request Appointment
Dr. Ezequiel J. Molina, MD
Dr. Ezequiel J. Molina, MD
Cardiac Surgery
(133)
1830 SUITE 405 Reston, VA 20190
(202) 877-7464
View Profile
Request Appointment
Dr. Ammar S. Bafi, MD
Dr. Ammar S. Bafi, MD
Valvular Disease Cardiology | Structural Heart Disease Cardiology | Cardiac Surgery
(199)
110 Irving Street Northwest Suite NW Washington, DC 20010
202-877-7464
View Profile
Request Appointment
loading

Locations

View all arrow_forward
2 locations found
MedStar Union Memorial Hospital
201 East University Parkway Baltimore, MD 21218
(410) 554-2266
View Location
Get Directions
MedStar Washington Hospital Center
110 Irving Street Northwest Washington, DC 20010
202-877-7464
View Location
Get Directions
loading
Download our Cardiovascular Performance & Outcomes Booklet!
Download
  • Find a Doctor 
  • Find a Location location_on
  • Request an Appointment today
  • myMedStar lock
  • Don't Show Again Close close
     
     Don't show this to me again
     
    Top vertical_align_top   Quick Tools
     

    MEDSTARHEALTH.ORG

    Request an Appointment
    Call for an appointment or referral
    888-354-3422
    Patients & Visitors
    • Patients & Visitors
      • Doctors
      • Locations
      • Programs and Services
      • Conditions & Treatments
      • myMedStar
      • Patient Resources
      • Patient Stories
      • About Us
      • Why Choose Us
    Medical Professionals
    • Medical Professionals
      • Careers
      • Educational Opportunities
      • Resources
    Research & Resources
    • Research & Resources
      • Cleveland Clinic Alliance
      • Clinical Trials Research
      • Innovations
      • Resources
      • Research and Innovations
    Ways to Give Back
    • Give Back
    Stay Connected

    Stay Connected

    Ride With Uber | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Feedback © 2019 MEDSTAR HEALTH