Heart Valve Disorders Program

Heart valve disease can have a major impact on your quality of life. The right treatment can ease symptoms and help you get back to the activities you love. Our Valve Clinic offers comprehensive diagnosis, treatment and long-term management of valve disease, delivered with compassion and kindness. 

We’re known throughout the region for our ability to treat the most complex structural heart conditions, often using minimally invasive techniques. Interventional cardiologists and heart surgeons work together to select the right type of procedure for your needs. 
 

What Is Heart Valve Disease?    

Heart valve disease affects the flaps that allow blood to flow between the four chambers of your heart. Blood flows through your heart in one direction to deliver oxygen-rich blood to your body. But when the valves don’t work properly, your heart can’t pump blood as it should. Problems can affect all four heart valves – aortic, mitral, pulmonic and tricuspid – and may include:  

• Stenosis: Valves narrow or stiffen, so the heart works overtime to pump blood.
• Regurgitation: Valves don’t close properly and blood leaks backward into the heart.
• Atresia: Valves aren’t properly formed at birth. 

Heart Valve Diseases We Treat

We treat common and complex heart valve disorders, including congenital heart diseases in adults. 

• Aortic valve regurgitation
• Aortic valve stenosis
• Bicuspid aortic valve
• Mitral valve prolapse
• Mitral valve regurgitation
• Mitral valve stenosis
• Pulmonary atresia
• Pulmonary valve regurgitation
• Pulmonary valve stenosis
• Tricuspid atresia
• Tricuspid valve regurgitation
• Tricuspid valve stenosis

Heart Valve Replacement and Repair

At UMass Memorial, we specialize in open and minimally invasive heart valve treatments to repair or replace failing valves. We consider many factors when deciding if a surgical or catheter-guided procedure is best for you, including the type of valve disease you have, your age and overall health. 

Transcatheter Heart Valve Therapies

UMass Memorial Health is a leader in Central Massachusetts for minimally invasive valve therapies. Our interventional cardiologists use catheters (thin, flexible tubes) to repair or replace valves, so we don’t have to open your chest and perform major surgery. 

We offer: 

• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) 
• Transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) 
• Transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR)

Heart Valve Surgery

Valve surgery involves general anesthesia and an incision in your chest, called a median sternotomy. You will also be on a heart-lung bypass machine. If you have a leaky valve that can be repaired, your surgeon places a silicone or metal ring around the base of the valve to help it close. If you have a narrowed valve, the surgeon reshapes the valve to widen it. If your valve can’t be repaired, we replace it with a mechanical (metal) or bioprosthetic (tissue) valve. 

Recognized Expertise in Transcatheter Valve Replacement 

UMass Memorial Medical Center has a 3-star rating for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons - American College of Cardiology’s Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry, the only site in New England to have this rating.