Transcatheter implantation of mitral valve prostheses: Current status of the problem

Abstract

Mitral valve disease is highly prevalent and quickly leads to development of severe heart failure. Mitral valve disease of degenerative or ischemic etiology affects 7.5 and 9.3% of population older than 65 and 75 years, respectively. "Open" (with cardiopulmonary bypass) surgical repair or valve replacement are not possible in almost half of affected patients because of their complications and concomitant diseases responsible for extremely high risk of these interventions. In the last decade, minimally invasive endovascu-lar technology - transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) - has been widely introduced for correction of aortic valve disease in similar category of patients. However, transcatheter mitral valve implantation (TMVI) has been developed just during recent couple of years.