Heart valve disease care

The four valves of the heart work to pump blood in the correct direction through and out of the heart. With heart valve disease, flaps on one or more of these valves don’t function as they should. This forces your heart to work harder and may lower your energy and make breathing difficult. Whether the condition was present at birth, caused by an infection, or developed over time, it can limit your ability to stay active, perform daily tasks, and maintain your independence. Untreated, it could threaten your life.

Penn Medicine is recognized nationally for our innovative heart valve disease treatment procedures and successful patient outcomes. Our skilled team of surgeons and cardiologists routinely treat both common and complex cases of heart valve disease in order to give our patients a chance for an improved quality of life.

As one of the largest heart valve programs in the mid-Atlantic, Penn Medicine treats every heart valve condition, from routine to highly complex. When our experts treat your valve disease, you can count on:

• Experienced leaders in catheter-based intervention: We were the first in the region to offer advanced nonsurgical treatment options, including MitraClip™ therapy and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Today, we are one of the top five TAVR programs in the country.
• Renowned surgical skills: Our cardiac surgeons perform complex valve repair and replacement when other regional hospitals cannot. For complex mitral valve conditions, our repair rate is near 100 percent, far exceeding the national average.
• Accessible innovation: Penn Medicine is an international leader in developing new therapies for heart valve repair and replacement. Participation in our clinical trials gives patients access to new treatments not available elsewhere in the region.
• Aortic disease expertise: Experts at the Aorta Center treat both common and complex aortic disease. Our team of aortic specialists includes surgeons, cardiologists, imaging experts, and geneticists.
• Complete care for bicuspid aortic valve disease (BAVD): Penn Medicine’s Center for Bicuspid Aortic Valve Diseases is the only program in the region providing comprehensive care for patients with BAVD and associated aortic aneurysm disease.
• Superior safety standards: To lower the risk of stroke associated with TAVR, we were the first in the region to evaluate and adopt a specialized stroke prevention system.