Repair of the Mitral Valve in the Heart Without Surgery
Mitral valve regurgitation also called mitral regurgitation is a heart condition in which the heart’s mitral valve does not close completely–this allows blood to flow backward inside your heart. Other names for mitral valve regurgitation are mitral insufficiency and mitral incompetence. A new non-surgical approach to treatment of this condition is being developed.
When the mitral valve does not close properly, blood does move through your heart or to the rest of your body as efficiently as it should. Mitral regurgitation can leave the patient fatigued and short of breath. One in five people over age 55 has some amount of mitral valve regurgitation.
The new technology is called The Mitralign Percutaneous Annuloplasty System. It can achieve a result similar to the open heart surgery approach called a suture annuloplasty. The mitral valve implant was delivered though a large femoral arterial sheath. The device caused a geometric reduction of the posterior annulus (it made the valve opening smaller and less leaky). The device is placed with the help of real time with 2-D and 3-D echocardiography. The first Mitralign Percutaneous Annuloplasty System was used in Europe at Helios Heart Center in Siegburg, Germany.
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