Aortic valve replacement

Aortic valve replacement is a procedure whereby the failing aortic valve of a patient's heart is replaced with an artificial heart valve. The aortic valve may need to be replaced because:

• The valve is leaky (aortic insufficiency, also known as aortic regurgitation)
• The valve is narrowed and doesn't open fully (aortic stenosis)

Current methods for aortic valve replacement include open-heart surgery, termed minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and percutaneous or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR; also PAVR, PAVI, TAVI).

A competent practising cardiologist can evaluate whether a patient could benefit from heart valve repair.