Options for Heart Valve Repair
The goal of heart valve surgery is to correct the valve disorder, reduce or eliminate symptoms, lengthen life and improve the quality of life.
修理或更换?
It's generally best to repair a valve and preserve a person’s own heart tissue when possible. However, when the tissue is too damaged, a 更换阀 may be used from another human heart, an animal or a manufactured mechanical valve.
Repair Procedure: Balloon Valvuloplasty
View an animation of valvuloplasty.
球囊瓣膜成形术 can improve blood flow and may help delay valve replacement. But it is not a replacement for heart valve surgery. 它是a的一部分 心导管检查, which is less invasive than general surgery or open heart surgery. 球囊瓣膜成形术 is more often performed for mitral stenosis and aortic stenosis.
In a balloon valvuloplasty, a small catheter holding an expandable balloon is threaded into the heart and placed into the tightened valve. Next, the balloon is expanded to stretch open the valve and separate the leaflets.
In some cases the valve cannot be successfully treated by balloon valvuloplasty, and a different surgical treatment is needed to open the valve and allow better blood flow.
Treatment results can vary depending on the experience and training of your medical care teams. Hospitals can become very proficient at managing care around certain conditions. When a valve problem is complex, it is very important to choose an experienced team to do the repair.
How do I find a health care professional experienced in treating valve disease?
Treatment may require you to visit a highly specialized cardiologist or surgeon. Your family practitioner or general cardiologist may refer you to a heart valve disease specialist who focuses on heart valve problems and repair.
打印 our pre-surgery checklist: Facing and Recovering from Major Surgery (PDF) | 西班牙语(PDF).
