Aortic Valve Stenosis-Percutaneous Replacement in Patients at Moderate or High Surgical Risk
The aortic valve is the structure that normally allows oxygenated blood to flow smoothly from the heart to the rest of the body.
Severe aortic valve stenosis occurs when, for various reasons, such as calcium deposits in its folds with age, the aortic valve cannot open and close properly. This results in the heart muscle thickening to push blood into the circulation and, over time, weakening.
Aortic valve stenosis is a progressive and life-threatening disease with main symptoms:
- Dyspnea
- Chest pain on exertion
- Fainting episodes
Essentially, once symptoms begin, if left untreated, one in two patients will live for two years and only one in five for five years.
There is no drug therapy that reverses or slows the progression of aortic stenosis. Surgical aortic valve replacement is currently the initial treatment of choice. However, many patients, either due to age or other medical conditions (e.g. previous bypass surgery, severe respiratory or renal or vascular disease, restenosis of previous surgery with a biological valve), have a moderate or high surgical risk.
These patients can now be treated with an alternative and effective method:
Percutaneous aortic valve replacement. With this bloodless procedure, the new biological valve is placed in place of the old one through a catheter (tube), usually from the femoral artery.
The valve is made of biological material (usually cow or pig pericardium) attached to a stent. During valve implantation, the stent is deployed in the wall between the heart and the aorta. The new valve, attached to the stent, is placed over the old one, which is compressed, allowing normal blood flow from the heart to the rest of the circulation.
The same procedure is performed more and more often today in patients who have previously had their aortic valve replaced with a biological valve that has become damaged. With the same procedure, we place the new valve over the old one, giving the patient several years of life without the symptoms of aortic stenosis or regurgitation.
In conclusion, percutaneous aortic valve replacement is the operation of choice today in patients with severe symptomatic aortic valve stenosis and at least moderate surgical risk. It is performed with excellent success and very low risk in specialized – certified Centers such as the Athens Medical Center.
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