Balloon valvuloplasty

Balloon Valvuloplasty

Balloon valvuloplasty is a minimally invasive procedure used to treat stenosis (narrowing) of heart valves. This procedure is primarily used for the treatment of mitral valve stenosis, aortic valve stenosis, and pulmonary valve stenosis. It involves the insertion of a balloon-tipped catheter into the heart and inflating the balloon to widen the narrowed valve, improving blood flow and reducing symptoms associated with valve stenosis.

Indications

Balloon valvuloplasty is indicated for patients with symptomatic valve stenosis who are not suitable candidates for surgical valve replacement or repair. It is often considered in the following scenarios:

• Mitral valve stenosis: Particularly in cases of rheumatic heart disease where the valve leaflets are pliable and not heavily calcified.
• Aortic valve stenosis: Typically used as a palliative measure in patients who are not candidates for aortic valve replacement due to high surgical risk.
• Pulmonary valve stenosis: Commonly performed in children and young adults with congenital pulmonary valve stenosis.

Procedure

The procedure is performed in a cardiac catheterization laboratory under local anesthesia and sedation. The steps involved are as follows:

1. Access: A catheter is inserted through a blood vessel, usually in the groin, and guided to the heart. 2. Positioning: The catheter is positioned across the stenotic valve using fluoroscopic guidance. 3. Balloon Inflation: Once in place, the balloon is inflated to stretch the valve open, breaking the adhesions and calcifications that cause the narrowing. 4. Deflation and Removal: The balloon is deflated and the catheter is removed.

Outcomes and Complications

Balloon valvuloplasty can provide significant symptomatic relief and improve hemodynamics in patients with valve stenosis. However, the procedure is not without risks and potential complications, which include:

• Valve regurgitation: The procedure may cause or worsen valve leakage.
• Embolism: Dislodged debris can lead to stroke or other embolic events.
• Vascular complications: Bleeding or damage to the blood vessels used for catheter access.

Long-term Considerations

While balloon valvuloplasty can be effective in the short term, restenosis (re-narrowing of the valve) can occur over time, necessitating further intervention. Patients require regular follow-up with echocardiography to monitor valve function.

Also see

• Heart valve disease
• Percutaneous coronary intervention
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement
• Cardiac catheterization

Cardiovascular disease A-Z

Most common cardiac diseases

• Cardiac arrhythmia‎
• Cardiogenetic disorders‎
• Cardiomegaly‎
• Cardiomyopathy‎
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation‎
• Chronic rheumatic heart diseases‎
• Congenital heart defects‎
• Heart neoplasia‎
• Ischemic heart diseases‎
• Pericardial disorders
• Syndromes affecting the heart‎
• Valvular heart disease‎

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

• Accelerated idioventricular rhythm
• Acute decompensated heart failure
• Arteriosclerotic heart disease
• Athletic heart syndrome
• Atrial flutter
• Atrioventricular fistula
• Cardiovascular disease in Australia
• Autoimmune heart disease

B

• Brown atrophy of the heart

C

• Ebb Cade
• Cardiac allograft vasculopathy
• Cardiac amyloidosis
• Cardiac asthma
• Cardiac tamponade
• Cardiogenic shock
• Cardiogeriatrics
• Cardiorenal syndrome
• Cardiotoxicity
• Carditis
• Coronary artery aneurysm
• Coronary artery anomaly
• Coronary artery disease
• Spontaneous coronary artery dissection
• Coronary artery ectasia
• Coronary occlusion
• Coronary steal
• Coronary thrombosis
• Coronary vasospasm
• Cœur en sabot
• Coxsackievirus-induced cardiomyopathy

D

• Duke Treadmill Score
• Duroziez's disease

E

• Eisenmenger's syndrome
• Embryocardia
• Endocardial fibroelastosis
• Eosinophilic myocarditis

H

• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
• Heart to Heart (1949 film)
• High-output heart failure
• Hyperdynamic precordium

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

I

• Idiopathic giant-cell myocarditis
• Interventricular dyssynchrony
• Intraventricular dyssynchrony
• Isolated atrial amyloidosis

K

• Keshan disease

L

• Loeffler endocarditis

M

• Mydicar
• Myocardial bridge
• Myocardial disarray
• Myocardial rupture
• Myocardial scarring
• Myocardial stunning
• Myocarditis

N

• Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis

O

• OLR1
• Ostial disease

P

• Papillary fibroelastoma
• Pathophysiology of heart failure
• Postpericardiotomy syndrome
• Pulmonary vein stenosis

R

• Right axis deviation
• Roemheld syndrome

S

• Saturated fat and cardiovascular disease
• SCAR-Fc
• Shone's syndrome
• Strain pattern
• Subacute bacterial endocarditis
• Sudden cardiac death of athletes

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

T

• Traumatic cardiac arrest

V

• Ventricular aneurysm
• Vibroacoustic disease
• Viral cardiomyopathy

W

• Waon therapy