Surgical Mitral Valve Repair: The “Gold Standard” for Mitral Regurgitation
Written By: Allison DeMajistre, BSN, RN, CCRN
Medical Expert: Dr. Joanna Chikwe, Chair of Cardiac Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Reviewed By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate
Published: March 7, 2024
Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most common type of heart valve disease and affects over 2 percent of the population worldwide. Many people with mild to moderate MR do not develop symptoms, but once it progresses, MR begins to cause weakness, fatigue, swollen feet, and shortness of breath. Although medications to control symptoms may help, ultimately, a treatment may be necessary to fix a leaky mitral valve.
While attending the Controversies and Advances in Cardiovascular Disease Treatment Conference in Los Angeles, California, we watched a presentation by Dr. Joanna Chikwe, the founding chair of Cardiac Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, about mitral regurgitation called, “Surgery Is And Will Always Be The Gold Standard for Mitral Valve Regurgitation.” After the conference, we were able to catch up with Dr. Chikwe to learn more insights into her presentation about surgery for mitral valve repair.
Key Learnings from Dr. Chikwe:
Dr. Chikwe shared with us the big takeaways from her presentation:
- Dr. Chikwe admits the title of her presentation was intended to draw attention, but she wanted to drive home the message that mitral valve surgery in the United States is extremely safe. According to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Database, most surgeons and hospitals didn’t lose a single patient when performing surgical mitral valve repair over an eight-year study period.
Dr. Joanna Chikwe Speaking at the Advances in
Cardiovascular Disease Treatment Conference
- Dr. Chikwe told us, “The other options out there are replacing a valve, but we know that a repair is better for your heart. You’ll live longer, need less surgery, and require fewer medications.”
- There are other options like transcatheter approaches, but Dr. Chikwe believes a surgical mitral valve repair is still the gold standard for most patients because durability is critically important. Most expert centers that have followed their patients for up to twenty years have found that a good mitral valve repair will restore normal life expectancy, and that is ultimately the goal.
Thank you, Dr. Chikwe and Cedar-Sinai Medical Center!
On behalf of our patient community, many thanks to Dr. Joanna Chikwe for expert medical insight about why surgical mitral repair is still the gold standard for treating mitral valve regurgitation. Also, many thanks to Cedar-Sinai Medical Center for caring for heart valve patients.
Related links:
- How is Mitral Valve Disease Treated with Dr. Joanna Chikwe
- Mitral Valve Awareness Week: What Should Patients Know?
- Heart Health Innovation: The Future of Mitral Valve Therapy
Keep on tickin!
Adam
Written by Adam Pick
- Patient & Website Founder
Video Transcript:
Adam: Hi everybody, it’s Adam with heartvalvesurgery.com. Today we’re in Los Angeles. I’m thrilled to be joined by Dr. Joanna Chikwe, who is the founding chair of Cardiac Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Chikwe, it is great to see you again.
Dr. Chikwe: Great to see you, Adam.
Adam: Dr. Chikwe, you and I were just at a wonderful conference called the Controversies and Advances in Cardiovascular Disease Treatment, and you gave a presentation specifically about mitral regurgitation. It was called surgery is and will always be the gold standard for mitral valve regurgitation. Can you share with all the patients watching this, what are the big takeaways from your presentation?
Dr. Chikwe: The title was deliberately provocative, but I think the key take home is that mitral valve surgery in the United States today, and this is based on STS national data, is so safe that in an eight-year study period, the majority of surgeons and most hospitals didn’t lose a single patient. The other options out there are replacing a valve, and we know that a repair is better for your heart. You’re going to live longer if you’re going to need fewer medications. That’s really important. You’ll need less surgery. The other options out there are transcatheter approaches. We believe that for most patients, a surgical mitral valve repair is still probably the gold standard. Durability of repair is super important. The most expert centers, we’ve all followed our patients out eight, 10, 15, 20 years, and our take home is that if you get a good mitral valve repair, that can restore normal life expectancy. That’s the goal.
Adam: Dr. Chikwe, on behalf of all the patients at heartvalvesurgery.com, patients all over the world, thanks for everything you are doing here at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.
Dr. Chikwe: Thank you, Adam.
Adam: Hi everybody, it’s Adam. I hope you enjoyed that video. Don’t forget, you can always subscribe to our YouTube channel. Watch the next two educational videos coming up on your screen or click the blue button to visit heartvalvesurgery.com.
