Mitral Valve Clip: Procedure, Candidature & Recovery
There are four valves in your heart. They are essential for healthy blood flow through the heart. On the left side of your heart, the mitral valve regulates blood flow from the atrium to the ventricle. The two leaflets of this valve open and close to ensure that blood only flows in one direction within the heart. Your cardiologist will recommend a Mitral Valve Clip procedure if you are diagnosed with mitral regurgitation (MR) which occurs when the mitral valve of the heart does not seal properly. This allows some of your heart's blood to "regurgitate," or flow backward, into the chambers of your heart. As the mitral valve does not completely close in individuals with MR, allowing blood to seep backward, the heart is forced to work harder to pump blood throughout the body. Thus, one experiences symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, coughing, an irregular heartbeat, and increasing heart failure as symptoms of increased workload. MR is a disease that worsens with time, lowering your quality of life and making daily tasks more difficult.
Candidature for Mitral Valve Clip Procedure
The purpose of treatment is to improve your quality of life by reducing mitral regurgitation. Medications may be provided to assist with alleviating your symptoms, but they will not be able to repair the valve. Open cardiac surgery is the current gold standard for treating a severely leaky mitral valve. The goal of surgery is to either replace or repair the mitral valve with an artificial valve (mitral valve replacement). However, if you do not require open cardiac surgery, your doctor will prescribe a mitral valve clip procedure for you.