Die interventionelle Therapie der Mitralklappeninsuffizienz

Surgical mitral valve repair remains the gold standard treatment for significant mitral regurgitation achieving excellent results especially in degenerative mitral valve disease. Due to comorbidities and high surgical risk, a substantial number of patients are left untreated. It is especially for these patients that interventional and less invasive devices need to be explored. Most of the currently investigated technologies mimic surgical methods of valvuloplasty, annuloplasty, and valve replacement. Edge-to-edge repair with the MitraClip® device imitates the Alfieri stitch and obtained encouraging results in a randomized trial compared with surgical mitral valve repair. Due to its high safety profile, this approach can already be seen as complimentary to surgery for patients with functional mitral regurgitation and poor left ventricular function. A close interdisciplinary collaboration of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons is essential for a successful interventional mitral valve program.