Clinical | New Heart Valve Repair Procedure
New Heart Valve Repair Procedure for High-Risk Patients
Interventional cardiologist Scott Lim with mitral clip. Photo: Sanjay Suchak
A minimally invasive procedure is the first effective treatment for patients who are at high risk for standard open-heart surgery for a leaking heart valve, a study led by Scott Lim, of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, and colleagues has found.The new procedure repairs the mitral valve, which regulates blood flow between chambers of the heart. Degenerative mitral valves cause severe mitral regurgitation, which occurs when blood flows backward into the heart. Left untreated, severe mitral regurgitation can lead to heart failure and death.
The device used to repair the mitral valve, Abbott’s MitraClip device, was recently approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The UVA Health System is among the first hospitals in the country to offer this procedure for select high-risk patients with severe degenerative mitral regurgitation. The U.Va. Heart Valve team trains physicians from around the world to perform this procedure.
“Patients whose health would not allow them to undergo surgery haven’t previously had a treatment option for their mitral regurgitation,” said U.Va. interventional cardiologist Dr. Scott Lim, who led the study. “This study demonstrated that the MitraClip is a viable treatment for this life-threatening condition.”
Published by Lim and colleagues in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the study examined outcomes for high-risk patients with severe degenerative mitral regurgitation. The patients were at high risk for open-heart surgery to replace their mitral valve due to one or more risk factors, such as frailty or additional severe medical conditions.”
– UVA Today, Meghan Bradley, 11/15/13
Lim DS, Reynolds MR, Feldman T, Kar S, Herrmann HC, Wang A, Whitlow PL, Gray WA, Grayburn P, Mack MJ, Glower DD. Improved functional status and quality of life in prohibitive surgical risk patients with degenerative mitral regurgitation after transcatheter mitral valve repair. Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2014 (Jul 15);64(2):182-92. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2013.10.021. Epub 2013 Oct 31.