Home > Encyclopedia of Medicine > Heart Valve Repair

Definition

Heart valve repair is a surgical procedure used to correct a malfunctioning heart valve. Repair usually involves separating the valve leaflets (the one-way "doors" of the heart valve which open and close to pump blood through the heart) or forcing them open with a balloon catheter, a technique known as balloon valvuloplasty.

Purpose

To correct damage to the mitral, aortic, pulmonary, or tricuspid heart valves caused by a systemic infection, endocarditis, rheumatic heart disease, a congenital heart defect, or mitral and/or aortic valve disease. Damaged valves may not open properly (stenosis) or they may not close adequately (valve regurgitation, insufficiency, or incompetence).

Precautions

Patients who have a diseased heart valve that is badly scarred or calcified may be better candidates for valve replacement...