Enhanced Munich Research: Encouraging Developments for Heart Patients - "Significant improvements noted in patients' symptoms"
Revolutionary Heart Treatment Offers Hope to Seriously Ill Patients
In a significant breakthrough for heart medicine, minimally invasive catheter procedures are providing improved treatment prospects for patients with defective heart valves. The German Heart Centre Munich, a pioneer in this field, has been at the forefront of this revolution, offering hope to seriously ill patients.
The Transcatheter Mitral Valve Implantation (TMVI) is one such procedure that has been developed for the mitral valve. This procedure could potentially replace mitral valve clipping in some cases in the future. According to Professor Markus Krane, a leading heart surgeon at the German Heart Centre Munich, the artificial valve implanted via catheter usually closes perfectly.
Unlike mitral valve clipping, TMVI involves the implantation of a new valve inside the native mitral valve via a catheter. While both procedures are minimally invasive, they have distinct advantages and disadvantages.
TMVI offers a complete valve replacement when repair is not possible, which is a significant advantage over mitral valve clipping. However, it carries risks such as the potential for thrombosis, requiring lifelong anticoagulation, and risks associated with valve-in-valve procedures and device malfunction.
On the other hand, mitral valve clipping is less invasive with no chest incision or open-heart surgery, and a quicker recovery. It is best suited for patients with mitral regurgitation who are high-risk for surgery. However, it is not ideal for all mitral valve anatomies and may not fully correct valve dysfunction.
The choice between these approaches depends on individual valve anatomy, patient risk profiles, and expertise at treating centres.
Heart valve diseases are a major challenge in light of our aging society. By 2030, it is estimated that around 121,000 patients in Germany will be affected. The Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) technique, which is well established and benefits especially elderly and seriously ill patients for whom surgery would be too stressful or too risky, has already made a significant impact in treating aortic valve disease.
The German Heart Centre Munich, part of TUM University Hospital, was among the pioneers in introducing the catheter procedure on the aortic valve in 2007. Since then, the one-year survival rate of high-risk patients who undergo the catheter procedure is 80%, compared to 86% for those who undergo conventional surgery.
In a healthy person, there are four heart valves: the aortic valve, mitral valve, tricuspid valve, and pulmonary valve. Dr. Hendrik Ruge, heart surgeon at the German Heart Centre, reported that the mitral valves inserted by catheter function well, show no significant wear and tear, and are not leaky.
With the development and advancement of these minimally invasive catheter procedures, the future of heart medicine looks promising, offering hope to those affected by heart valve diseases.
[1] MitraClip System - Medtronic [2] Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR) - TAVR Academy [3] Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR) - Cleveland Clinic [4] Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR) - Mayo Clinic
Science has led to the development of Transcatheter Mitral Valve Implantation (TMVI), a promising procedure for severely ill patients with defective mitral valves, contributing to the ongoing revolution in medical-conditions related to health-and-wellness, specifically cardiovascular-health. The potential benefits of TMVI, compared to mitral valve clipping, include complete valve replacement when repair is not possible, but it does carry risks such as thrombosis and the need for lifelong anticoagulation.
