Percutaneous mitral valve repair: potential in heart failure management

As a large portion of the US demographic advances into the later decades of life, the incidence of valvular heart disease is expected to increase. Mitral regurgitation (MR) caused by primary valve abnormality (degenerative) or secondary to cardiomyopathy (functional) is an important cause of heart failure. Management of valvular heart disease is expected to account for a large segment of services provided to heart failure patients. Recent years have seen a transition from surgical therapy to minimally invasive techniques, specifically percutaneous approaches for the correction of heart valve disease. The double orifice technique of mitral valve repair using the MitraClip System (Abbott Vascular, Menlo Park, CA) is one of many percutaneous approaches to treat significant MR. This technique is effective in patients with both degenerative and functional MR, reducing MR severity and improving heart failure symptoms. Broad acceptance of this percutaneous technology requires collaboration among cardiologists and cardiac surgeons in centers with superior catheter experience and knowledge of echocardiography.