Mitral valve disease
The mitral valve is positioned between the ventricle and the left auricle. Its main function is to communicate between the two, so the valve opens to allow blood from the left auricle to fill the left ventricle and closes when the left ventricle contracts to pump blood into the aorta.
Over time, mitral valve stenosis due to calcification can occur. The leaflets which are at the top, no longer have the flexibility to open fully, allowing blood flow to pass. With a smaller opening the heart has to work harder to pump blood. Rheumatic fever is also a risk factor for suffering from mitral valve disease.
Mitral valve regurgitation occurs when blood returns to the left auricle because the valve does not control its closure. The main causes are the age, rheumatic fever, myxomatous degeneration (enlargement of valve parts) and streptococcal infections.
Patients with a high degree of regurgitation and valvular stenosis must undergo valve surgery before symptoms begin. It is a way to protect heart function and prevent the disease from progressing. Insufficient functioning of the mitral valve because the regurgitation and stenosis can lead to heart failure and sudden death.
The main symptoms of heart failure are:
- Lack of breathe
- Swelling in the feet and ankles
- Night cough
- Palpitations
- Atrial fibrillation
- Dilated heart
- Pulmonary edema
See procedures
Mitral valve replacement
Tendyne™ TMVR System is first-in-class technology designed to eliminate mitral regurgitation (MR), offering select patients with MR (≥ grade 3), a novel option for mitral valve replacement.
Mitraclip
It is a non-surgical procedure that uses minimally invasive techniques to correct Mitral Valve Insufficiency, which is one of the main causes of sudden death. It is a safe option, with equally positive results to those obtained by conventional surgery, and is indicated for patients who cannot undergo the surgical procedure and whose treatment is restricted to the use of drugs, which attenuate the symptoms but have no effect on the cause. of the disease.
Mitral Valve Surgery
It is a minimally invasive surgery to repair the mitral valve, performed through a small incision of 4 to 6 cm in the lateral wall of the right hemithorax, in the submammary line of the skin.