Transcatheter valve repair and replacement

Abstract

Cardiac device technologies continue to advance at a rapid pace, with heart valve design and placement procedures being one of the major focus areas. Minimally or less invasive procedures to replace cardiac valves will enable an increasing number of individuals to receive this therapy, including the older and more frail individual or the adult patient with prior surgeries for repair of congenital defects. Transcatheter-delivered replacement valves for the four heart valves are either available on the market today or in development. This chapter provides a brief introduction of this rapidly emerging device area as well as general considerations related to delivering a device via catheter into the heart, e.g., percutaneous beating heart interventional procedures performed under fluoroscopic or echocardiographic guidance. © 2009 Humana Press.