Aortic valve stenosis (AS) is a narrowing of your heart’s aortic valve, due to damage by calcium or scarring. This blocks normal blood flow out of the heart and to the rest of the body.
A transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) — also known as transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) — is a minimally invasive procedure that enables us to correct a damaged valve without performing open heart surgery. Instead, using a catheter a replacement valve is guided to the heart and inserted within it the diseased valve itself. The parts of the diseased valve are pushed aside, and the new valve takes over to restore blood flow.
This technique differs from standard valve replacement surgery because it can be done through small incisions and does not require a sternotomy (surgical opening of the chest). This key difference significantly improves your recovery time and lowers your risk of infection and complications.