PERCUTANEOUS HEART VALVES
INTRODUCTION
There are valves which are located between the chambers of the heart and which control the flow of blood from the atria to the ventricles and from the ventricles into the two large arteries connected to the heart. In order to ensure optimal functioning of the cardiac pump, these valves must be very thin and flexible so that blood may flow from one chamber to the other, but also impermeable in order to avoid blood regurgitation.
With age, the aortic valve becomes calcified and hampers blood flow to the various organs (Photo 1). Surgical replacement remains the optimal and thoroughest treatment (over 150,000 patients undergo heart valve surgery every year). In certain instances when surgery is denied or considered too high-risk, the calcified valve can be dilated with a balloon.
One of the most recent techniques is the placement of an artificial aortic valve on the stenosed native valve. This very promising technique is currently part of a clinical research protocol at the Institut Hospitalier Jacques Cartier. More than 300 patients all over the world have already been treated using this innovative technique.
