Interventional cardiologists can perform mitral valve procedures without open heart surgery to address mitral regurgitation or mitral stenosis. Left untreated, any of these structural heart valve conditions can put enough strain on the heart muscle to cause heart failure and a variety of other medical issues.

In mild cases, you can manage symptoms with healthy lifestyle changes and medication. Previously, the primary treatment for severe cases has been open heart surgery. But new advancements have made minimally invasive mitral valve repairs or replacements available to more patients.

Severe cases of mitral valve disease can cause conditions such as atrial fibrillation, pulmonary hypertension or heart failure.

The board-certified and fellowship-trained cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons at the Norton Heart & Vascular Institute Structural Heart Program have the experience and access to the latest treatments to help fix your faulty mitral valve.

The medical providers in the Structural Heart Program work as a team so you benefit from their varying viewpoints — it’s like getting multiple opinions at once. They’ll evaluate the severity of your condition, consider your age, the structure of your heart valves and the overall condition of your heart to arrive at a customized treatment plan.

Mitral regurgitation and mitral stenosis patients can benefit from a minimally invasive repair or replacement of the mitral valve. The specialists in the Structural Heart Program have the experience to know when to recommend one procedure or the other — or whether to address your symptoms with medication alone.

Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair

While the transcatheter mitral valve repair is a newer procedure, the Structural Heart Program’s multidisciplinary team of interventional cardiologists and imaging specialists have been performing it for years.

The transcatheter mitral valve repair treats mitral valve regurgitation. With this condition, the mitral valve’s leaflets, or flaps, don’t close completely, allowing some blood to flow backward into the heart when the powerful left ventricle squeezes to push oxygenated blood out to the body. The result is strain on the heart and backed up blood that can lead to heart failure.

Our interventional cardiologists thread a thin catheter through blood vessels to the site of the faulty mitral valve and place a clip, the MitraClip, on the two leaflets of the mitral valve to help it close completely. While the clip is in place, real-time images show how well it’s working. Adjustments to the clip can reduce leakage even further.

With the clip in place, your interventional cardiologist removes the catheter and tools.

There’s no incision in your chest or need for a heart-lung machine to do the work of your heart. The mitral valve repair procedure takes a few hours, and typically you’d be home in one to three days.

Most people experience improvement in their leaky valve-related symptoms a short time after the procedure.

Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement

A transcatheter mitral valve replacement also uses minimally invasive methods, but your cardiologist will implant a new valve rather than attempt to fix the existing one.

Minimally invasive transcatheter mitral valve replacement can help patients with mitral regurgitation or mitral stenosis — a narrowing of the valve that limits blood flow. Open heart surgery to replace the valve isn’t an option for some patients, and transcatheter mitral valve replacement can improve quality of life dramatically.

There are two types of transcatheter mitral valve replacements to treat mitral valve disease.

• Valve-in-valve replacement replaces a previously implanted prosthetic valve. Prosthetic valves made from animal tissue can last up to 20 years.
• In select patients, native valve replacement takes the place of your original valve.

Like a transcatheter mitral valve repair, a replacement does not require an incision in your chest or stopping your heart temporarily. The tools and replacement valve are threaded to your heart with a catheter that is inserted in a blood vessel in your groin. Usually, no stitches are needed.

Patients typically go home after three days in the hospital.

Atención cardíaca y vascular para la persona en su totalidad

El Norton Heart & Vascular Institute ofrece recursos para pacientes para ayudarlos a usted y a su familia, que incluyen clases gratuitas para personas de todas las edades que buscan mejorar la salud cardiovascular o que viven con una afección cardíaca.

Programa de Rehabilitación Cardíaca

Nuestros proveedores de rehabilitación cardíaca son líderes en el desarrollo y la aplicación de técnicas innovadoras que pueden ayudarlo a recuperarse y reanudar su vida.

Grupo de apoyo Connecting Hearts

El grupo brinda educación y apoyo a las personas que han tenido un ataque al corazón, que viven con una afección cardíaca o que corren el riesgo de sufrir una enfermedad cardiovascular.

Evaluaciones de la salud cardíaca

La prevención es la mejor manera de controlar las cardiopatías, y hay exámenes de detección para detectar signos tempranos de enfermedades cardíacas y vasculares e identificar factores de riesgo.

Acerca del Norton Heart & Vascular Institute

Every year, more than 137,000 people in Louisville and Southern Indiana choose Norton Heart & Vascular Institute specialists for their heart and vascular care. Ese número supera a todos los demás proveedores de atención médica de la zona.

• Norton Healthcare’s adult-service hospitals in Louisville all have received Chest Pain Center accreditation from the American College of Cardiology (ACC). This is the seventh consecutive accreditation for all four hospitals, which ensures quality for the treatment of heart attack.
• Norton Audubon Hospital, Norton Brownsboro Hospital and Norton Hospital all are recognized as having ACC Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI accreditation.
• Norton Healthcare has the most facilities across the city of Louisville with the ability treat a life-threatening heart attack.

• You have access to more than 100 physicians and advanced practice providers with specialized training and experience in a comprehensive range of conditions and treatments.
• Los pacientes pueden programar citas en 28 ubicaciones en Louisville y el sur de Indiana. La telecardiología se ofrece en más de 30 sedes de la región.
• El Colegio Americano de Cardiología ha reconocido año tras año al Norton Audubon Hospital, una ubicación clave para los servicios del Norton Heart & Vascular Institute, con la Distinción Nacional de Excelencia de HeartCare Center. Este es el único hospital en Louisville que ha sido reconocido con esta distinción.
• U.S. News & World Report 2023-24 Best Hospitals ranked Norton Healthcare’s adult-service hospitals in Louisville as high performing in heart attack, heart failure, aortic valve surgery and heart bypass surgery.
• Norton Audubon Hospital earned ventricular assist device (VAD) accreditation from DNV – Healthcare and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
• Communicate with your health care provider, renew prescriptions, get lab results and more through your free Norton MyChart account.