Mitral Valve Disease Treatments

Advanced options to improve function of the mitral valve

Treatments for mitral valve disease vary based on the type and severity of your disease. We bring together surgeons, interventional cardiologists and imaging specialists to discuss and analyze each patient to determine the most effective treatment. If you need surgery, we offer minimally invasive techniques to repair damaged valves and have several options for replacement. Our Structural Heart and Valvular Disease Program performs more than 100 complex mitral valve surgical repairs each year.

Monitoring, medication and lifestyle changes

If your condition and symptoms are mild, your doctor may recommend monitoring your valve function with regular testing. In some cases, blood thinners to reduce the risk of blood clots or medication to lower blood pressure can prevent complications and prevent your valve disease from worsening. Your doctor also may recommend making heart-healthy lifestyle changes, such as diet or exercise.

Surgery to repair or replace your mitral valve

Your doctor may recommend repairing or replacing your mitral valve if your condition is severe or causing symptoms that can’t be controlled by lifestyle changes or medication.

Options include:

• Valve repair: Mitral valve repair is often the preferred method because it uses your own tissue and has a lower risk of complications. 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.
• Valve replacement: If your mitral valve can’t be repaired, it may be replaced with a biological valve (made from cow or pig tissue) or mechanical valve (made of plastic, carbon or metal). Receiving a mechanical valve will require you to take blood thinners for the rest of your life to reduce the risk of bleeding and stroke.

Minimally invasive procedures to treat mitral valve disease

Some mitral valve procedures can be performed using minimally invasive techniques. These procedures may be performed through several small incisions in the chest or through a catheter.

Some minimally invasive mitral valve procedures we offer include:

• MitraClip®: This catheter-based procedure uses a clip to fix a leaky mitral valve. This treatment may be recommended if you are too sick for surgery.
• Mitral valvuloplasty: This catheter-based procedure uses an inflated balloon to reopen the valve and allow blood to flow more easily to the chambers of the heart, lungs and rest of the body.

MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute is also one of six centers nationwide studying the feasibility of using the Tendyne Mitral Valve System for the treatment of patients with severe mitral regurgitation.

Conditions

Tests