Interventional vs. surgical mitral valve therapy. Which technique for which patient?

ABSTRACT

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most frequent valvular heart disease in developed countries. Surgical repair represents the optimal treatment for severe degenerative MR; however, surgical correction of functional MR is controversial. The Euro Heart Survey showed that up to 50 % of patients with severe MR are today denied surgical treatment. Therefore, new transcatheter techniques have been developed to treat MR with less invasive approaches. Currently, the device with the widest clinical use is the MitraClip System. In this scenario, a multidisciplinary team approach is key in providing optimal individually tailored treatment for patients with MR.