Risks

Mitral valve repair and mitral valve replacement surgery can involve risks including:

• Bleeding
• Blood clots
• Valve dysfunction in replacement valves
• Heart rhythm problems
• Infection
• Stroke
• Death

How you prepare

Before surgery to have your mitral valve repaired or replaced, your doctor and treatment team will explain to you what to expect before, during and after the surgery and potential risks of the surgery.

Your doctor and team will discuss concerns you may have about your mitral valve repair or mitral valve replacement surgery. Discuss with your doctor and treatment team any questions you may have about the procedure.

You'll need to have your hair shaved off at the location of your body where the procedure will take place.

Before being admitted to the hospital for your surgery, talk to your family about your hospital stay and discuss help you may need when you return home. Your doctor and treatment team may give you specific instructions to follow during your recovery when you return home.

Food and medications

Talk to your doctor about:

• When you can take your regular medications and whether you can take them before your surgery
• When you should stop eating or drinking the night before the surgery

Clothing and personal items

Your treatment team may recommend that you bring several items to the hospital including:

• A list of your medications
• Eyeglasses, hearing aids or dentures
• Personal care items, such as a brush, comb, toothbrush and shaving equipment
• Loosefitting, comfortable clothing
• A copy of your advance directive
• Items that may help you relax, such as portable music players or books

During surgery, avoid wearing:

• Jewelry
• Eyeglasses
• Contact lenses
• Dentures
• Nail polish

Precautions regarding medications and allergies

Talk to your doctor about:

• Any medications you have brought to the hospital and when you should take medications on the day of the procedure
• Allergies or reactions you have had to medications

Results

After mitral valve repair or mitral valve replacement surgery, you may be able to return to daily activities, such as working, driving and exercise. Your doctor will discuss with you when you can return to activities. You'll generally still need to take certain medications.

You'll need to attend regular follow-up appointments with your doctor. You may have several tests to evaluate and monitor your condition.

Your doctor may instruct you to incorporate healthy lifestyle changes — such as physical activity, a healthy diet, stress management and avoiding tobacco use — into your life.

Your doctor may recommend that you participate in cardiac rehabilitation — a program of education and exercise designed to help you improve your health and help you recover after heart surgery.

Overview

A valvuloplasty is a treatment to repair a heart valve that has a narrowed opening. Narrowing of a heart valve is called valve stenosis.

Four heart valves — the aortic, mitral, tricuspid and pulmonary valves — open and close to let blood flow through the heart. In a narrowed heart valve, the valve flaps, also called leaflets, may become thick or stiff and fuse together. Valve stenosis reduces blood flow through the valve.

A valvuloplasty may improve blood flow through the heart valve. It also may improve symptoms of heart valve disease, such as shortness of breath or chest pain.

Valvuloplasty also may be called:

• Balloon valvuloplasty.
• Balloon valvotomy.
• Percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty.

Why it's done

Valvuloplasty is done to repair a narrowed heart valve, also called valve stenosis. It may be done to treat:

• Aortic valve stenosis.
• Mitral valve stenosis.
• Pulmonary valve stenosis, also called pulmonic stenosis.
• Tricuspid valve stenosis.

Untreated, some types of heart valve stenosis can lead to complications, including irregular heartbeats and heart failure.

Talk to a healthcare professional to decide whether valvuloplasty or another treatment is best for you. Valvuloplasty may be suggested if you have severe valve narrowing that's causing symptoms. But some people with heart valve disease need valvuloplasty even if the condition isn't severe or when it's not causing symptoms.

The decision to have a valvuloplasty also may depend on the valve affected. For example, the aortic valve tends to narrow again in adults who've had a valvuloplasty. So the treatment is usually done if you're too sick for surgery or are waiting for a valve replacement.

What you can expect

Valvuloplasty is done in the hospital, usually while you're awake. A medicine called a sedative may be used to help you relax.

Valvuloplasty is done during a procedure called cardiac catheterization. The doctor places a thin, flexible tube called catheter into a blood vessel, usually in the groin. The catheter is carefully guided to the narrowed valve in the heart. Once in position, a balloon on the tip of the catheter is inflated to widen the valve opening. This improves blood flow. The balloon is deflated. The catheter is removed.

A valvuloplasty usually requires an overnight hospital stay. Regular health checkups and imaging tests of the heart are needed after valvuloplasty to make sure the heart valve is working properly.

Valvuloplasty may improve blood flow through the heart and reduce symptoms. But the valve may narrow again. Another valvuloplasty or heart valve treatment may be needed in the future.