Interventional procedure overview of transcatheter aortic valve implantation for native aortic valve regurgitation

Indications and current treatment

Aortic regurgitation (AR) is the leakage of blood from the aorta into the left ventricle during diastole (when the heart relaxes and fills with blood from the atria). It develops when the aortic valve pathology prevents normal closure of the valve in diastole. AR is usually the result of leaflet degeneration or incompetence, aortic root dilatation with aortic annulus enlargement, or both. Patients may remain asymptomatic for years but eventually they present most often with shortness of breath. In severe cases this leads to heart failure. 

For people with severe symptomatic AR who are well enough for surgery, surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) with a biological or mechanical prosthetic valve is standard treatment.

For some people, surgery is not an option. This can be because of medical comorbidities or technical considerations, such as a calcified aorta or scarring from previous cardiac surgery. For these people, the risks of SAVR outweigh the potential benefits, and so medical treatment is the standard treatment. But for some of these people, medical treatment is not effective.