Transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) also called Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) is a minimally invasive procedure that allows the surgeon to replace a damaged or narrowed aortic valve by deploying a catheter through the blood vessels.

In India, almost 13% of the population is suffering from heart problems. The more serious cases such as severe aortic stenosis (narrowing of the heart’s aortic valve) might need an open heart surgery. The open heart surgery or surgical AVR is a high-risk, complex procedure to perform, especially on patients above 70 years of age. This number of elderly patients unable to go through surgical AVR or any other viable solution goes as high as 30-40%.

As a safer option for these high-risk patients, transcatheter aortic valve replacement came into being. It is a minimally invasive procedure of replacing a damaged aortic valve. TAVI procedure has proven to be a game-changer as it brings down the risk factor to the minimum.