Percutaneous heart valve replacement: an update

Valvular heart disease continues to be an important health care problem. Although surgical valve replacement remains the standard treatment, minimally invasive approaches for valve repair and replacement are becoming attractive alternatives among physicians and patients. In fact, percutaneous procedures can extend treatment to the increasing population of elderly patients with severe comorbidities who cannot withstand the stress of open heart surgery and to the younger patients at the early stage of valve disease, who are not treated until older ages to avoid multiple invasive surgeries. Feasibility of this technique has been shown in the first clinical experiences, and the early results are promising. However, it is clear that percutaneous valve replacement therapy is still at the early stage of development and requires enhanced implantation procedures and substantial design improvements as well as long-term follow-up to show the safety and effectiveness of this new treatment modality.