Definition of Balloon Valvuloplasty
Balloon valvuloplasty, also called percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty, is a surgical procedure used to open a narrowed heart valve. The procedure is sometimes described as balloon enlargement of a narrowed heart valve.
Purposes of Balloon Valvuloplasty
Balloon valvuloplasty is performed on children and adults who have a narrowed heart valve, a condition called stenosis. The goal of the procedure is to improve valve function and blood flow by enlarging the valve opening. It is sometimes used to avoid or delay open heart surgery and valve replacement.
There are four valves in the heart: aortic valve, pulmonary valve, mitral valve, and tricuspid valve. Each is located at the exit of one of the heart’s four chambers. These valves open and close to regulate the blood flow from one chamber to the next and are vital to the efficient functioning of the heart and circulatory system. Balloon valvuloplasty is used primarily to treat pulmonary, mitral, and aortic valves when narrowing is present and medical treatment has not corrected or relieved the related problems. With mitral stenosis, for example, medical solutions are typically tried first, such as diuretic therapy (reducing excess fluid), anticoagulant therapy (thinning the blood and preventing blood clots), or blood pressure medications. Valvuloplasty is recommended for those patients whose symptoms continue to progress even after taking such medications for a period of time.
Valvular stenosis can be a congenital defect (develops in the fetus and is present at birth) or can be acquired, that is, it stems from other conditions. Mitral valve stenosis in adults, for example, is rarely congenital and is usually acquired, either a result of having rheumatic fever as a child or developing calcium obstruction in the valve later in life. Pulmonary stenosis is almost entirely congenital. Aortic stenosis usually does not produce symptoms until the valve is 75% blocked; this occurs over time and is consequently found in people between the ages of 40 and 70. Tricuspid stenosis is usually the result of rheumatic fever; it occurs less frequently than other valve defects.