Advised Open-Heart Surgery for Valve Disease?
Understand Your Options

If you have been told you need open-heart surgery for a valve problem such as severe aortic stenosis, it is natural to want to understand every choice. For some people, a catheter-based treatment may be possible. Whether it suits you depends on your valve, your scans and your overall health, and open-heart surgery remains the right choice for many patients. A specialist review of your reports can help you see where you stand.

Heart Valve Experts is a team of interventional cardiologists who assess and treat valve and structural heart conditions using catheter-based procedures.

What the team offers

Specialist assessment of valve disease

Interventional cardiologist-led care

Imaging (echocardiography and CT) to plan treatment

Assessment of patients who may be at higher surgical risk

Catheter-based procedures: TAVI, TMVR, TEER (MitraClip and TriClip) and tricuspid valve interventions

Discuss Your Valve Treatment Options

Who Is This Treatment For?

For people with valve disease who have been advised open-heart surgery or told that surgery may carry a higher risk.

A catheter-based treatment may be considered if you:

Have severe aortic stenosis or another significant valve disease
Have been advised open-heart valve surgery
Are at higher surgical risk because of age or other medical conditions
Have had bypass or valve surgery before
Want a second opinion on valve replacement options

Why an early review helps

Valve disease can progress slowly and may cause few symptoms at first. Regular review helps your doctors choose the right time for treatment, and a second opinion can help you feel confident about the plan.

How Catheter-Based Valve Treatment Differs from Open-Heart Surgery

No chest opening

The valve is reached through a blood vessel, usually in the groin, using a catheter.

Considered when surgical risk is higher

Doctors weigh this option when open-heart surgery may carry added risk because of age, other illnesses or earlier heart surgery.

Often avoids the heart–lung machine

Most catheter-based valve procedures are done without it.

Focused on the valve

The procedure treats the diseased valve rather than involving wider heart surgery.

Recovery

Recovery is often shorter than after open-heart surgery, but it varies with the procedure and your health.

Not right for everyone

The Heart Team decides whether a catheter-based option suits you. Some patients are better served by surgery.

Like any heart procedure, catheter-based treatments carry risks, including bleeding, stroke, rhythm problems that may need a pacemaker, and the need for further treatment. Your doctors will explain these for your case.

Choosing the Right Valve Treatment Pathway

Heart valve symptoms can overlap. The first step is confirming which valve is affected and how severe the disease is, using tests such as echocardiography or CT. A specialist review then helps determine the most appropriate treatment pathway.

Option 1

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) / TAVR

For aortic stenosis (a narrowed aortic valve)

It often causes breathlessness, chest pain, dizziness or fainting.

Option 2

MitraClip / Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair (TEER)

For mitral regurgitation (a leaking mitral valve)

It may cause breathlessness, tiredness, swelling or reduced exercise ability.

Option 3

Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR)

For selected mitral valve conditions

It is considered in specific situations, for example when a previously placed surgical valve or repair ring is failing, or when conventional surgery is not suitable.

Option 4

Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion (LAAO)

For people with atrial fibrillation who are at risk of stroke

It may be considered when long-term blood thinners are not suitable.

Option 5

Device Closure

For selected structural heart defects (atrial septal defect, patent foramen ovale, ventricular septal defect or patent ductus arteriosus)

It is considered for abnormal heart openings that can be closed with catheter-based devices.

Option 6

Balloon Valvuloplasty

For narrowed heart valves

It may improve valve opening in specific cases, depending on anatomy and condition.

Option 7

Ruptured Sinus of Valsalva (RSOV) Device Closure

For ruptured sinus of Valsalva (RSOV)

A structural defect that may be treated with catheter-based closure in selected patients.

Option 8

Tricuspid Valve Intervention

For tricuspid valve regurgitation

It is often linked with fluid retention, leg or abdominal swelling, or tiredness.

Meet Our Heart Valve Specialists

Valve treatment needs specialised training and a multidisciplinary approach. Our team assesses valve cases referred for second opinions and for higher-risk assessment.