An Alternative to Surgery for Mitral Valve Regurgitation

When most people think of heart disease, they nearly always first consider the myocardial infarction. However, there is a less known cardiac condition which is important nonetheless. According to Abbott industries, over 8 million people in the U.S. and Europe have mitral valve regurgitation. About 20 percent of these patients eventually undergo open-heart surgery, during which a surgeon stitches together two sides of the mitral valve to ensure that blood flows in the proper direction. Now, however, there is an alternative to this highly invasive procedure. Using a catheter inserted through the leg—a method similar to that of stent insertion—a device known as the MitraClip is placed in the mitral valve, where it clamps the valve shut in a way similar to the stitching method. The primary benefit of this procedure is, of course, that it does not require any highly invasive surgery. Although the MitraClip currently has a success rate slightly lower that that of surgery, it is still an extremely attractive option for those who are unable to undergo surgery because either they’re too sick or they aren’t candidates.

This article was particularly interesting to me because it involved heart disease. My family has a history of heart problems—my grandfather died of a myocardial infarction and my father was born with an atrial septal defect with a partial anomalous pulmonary venous return. I therefore find that any article involving anomalous heart conditions catches my eye. I have had the open-heart surgical process vividly described to me by my father, as well as the recovery process. This leads me to believe that any new medical breakthrough annulling the need to saw through the sternum is an excellent one.

Sources:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2009/0105-alternative_to_open_heart_surgery.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-15/abbott-heart-clip-may-gain-1-billion-as-surgery-alternative.html