Heart valve surgery

People with valvular heart disease are living longer, with less morbidity, than ever before; advances in surgical techniques and better understanding of the timing of surgery account for this increased survival. In general, patients with stenotic valvular lesions can be monitored clinically until symptoms appear. Patients with regurgitant valvular lesions require careful echocardiographic monitoring for left ventricular function and may require surgery even if symptoms are absent. Aside from antibiotic prophylaxis, very little medical therapy is available for patients with valvular heart disease. Surgery is the treatment for most symptomatic lesions.