Peter C. Block, MD

The Edwards Lifesciences Sapien valve for transcatheter aortic valve replacement, also known as TAVR, was approved by the FDA for use in patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis in November.

At the recent Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) conference in Washington, D.C., treatment options for structural heart disease took center stage, with more than a full day devoted to minimally invasive treatment of aortic and mitral valve disease.

The recent data from the EVEREST II trial have given us a peek at the options that percutaneous repair of mitral regurgitation might offer.

It has been more than five years since the first patient underwent percutaneous aortic valve replacement in Europe.

For percutaneous interventions in cardiac and vascular disease (at least for the coming year), Yogi might just have been wrong when he purportedly said, “It is hard to make predictions, especially about the future.”

Clinical trials testing many unique devices are now underway to demonstrate whether percutaneous treatment of mitral regurgitation can be done safely and successfully. Despite careful engineering and thoughtful application, it is not clear which devices will be successful in reducing mitral regurgitation long-term. This review outlines the current status.

Percutaneous repair of mitral regurgitation continues to evolve as new technologies are developed.