Repairing Aortic Valves Without Surgery

A non-surgical procedure repairs a serious heart valve problem as well as surgery does for high-risk patients, a study has found. Both procedures are done for aortic stenosis. This is a stiffening of the heart’s aortic valve, which strains the heart. It can lead to severe symptoms and disability. The new procedure uses a thin tube called a catheter to push a new artificial valve through an artery to the heart. A balloon props open the old valve while the new one is inserted. The study included nearly 700 people. They were well enough for surgery but had a high risk of problems with it. They were randomly divided into two groups. One group got surgery. The other got the new procedure. After one year, about 27% of the surgery patients and 24% of those who got the new procedure had died. About 8% of those in the non-surgery group had strokes and other neurological problems.