In this unique program, specialists in valvular heart disease, cardiac imaging, interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery and cardiac anesthesia work together to fully diagnose and understand a patient’s valve condition, and provide personalized and comprehensive care to determine the best and most appropriate approach to treatment.
Our world-renowned experts determine if a patient needs an intervention on their heart valve. If necessary, we use both traditional open chest and minimally invasive procedures and our outcomes consistently exceed regional and national averages.
Symptoms may include:
Some patients may not have any symptoms, even if they have severe disease. Others may have uncomfortable symptoms without severe disease. It’s important you speak with your provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may be experiencing.
A heart valve condition is diagnosed by dedicated cardiac imaging specialists, who use advanced imaging techniques. Diagnostic testing may include the following procedures:
Our heart team provides coordinated patient care for heart valve conditions, performing thorough assessments and customizing each patient’s treatment plan to meet their specific needs. Prior to your first visit, your care team will review your case, looking at all records and imaging studies to determine what additional tests or consults may be needed. When possible, we work with you to schedule those related appointments on the same day.
Your care team will discuss with you whether or not medical or surgical intervention is necessary, and if so, which procedure is most appropriate.
If surgical procedures are not immediately needed, your physician may decide to closely monitor the affected heart valve over a series of follow-up appointments. They may prescribe heart medication, as certain medications can help relieve symptoms by controlling blood pressure and abnormal rhythms of the heart.
Depending on the state of your heart valve(s), surgery may be required to repair or replace the damage. Our surgeons offer both minimally invasive, endoscopic (catheter-based) surgical procedures and traditional open-heart surgeries.
Our clinicians and surgeons are at the forefront of the latest clinical trials, developing and implementing new surgical devices, including robotic surgical techniques. At Mass General Brigham Heart, we bring technological and procedural advancements directly to our patients in order to improve outcomes and shorten surgical and recovery times.
Mass General Brigham surgeons are experts at performing minimally invasive procedures for eligible patients with stenosis and/or regurgitation of the aortic, mitral, tricuspid, and pulmonic heart valves.
During these minimally invasive procedures, a surgeon makes small incisions in the side of a patient’s chest to allow the insertion of small tubes containing tiny surgical instruments. A surgeon controls these instruments from outside your body, accessing the heart and performing the valve replacement or repair. These instruments mimic the surgeon’s hand movements and, in some cases, provide even more dexterity and precision.
Minimally invasive valve procedures we specialize in include:
These procedures are very safe and have low complication rates. Compared with traditional open heart surgery (sternotomy), patients who undergo minimally invasive procedures tend to have:
The valve specialists at Mass General Brigham work closely with patients to determine the best treatment plan for each individual.
