Who is it for?

Balloon valvuloplasty is an excellent treatment option for patients with narrowed mitral valves (mitral valve stenosis). The beneficial results are typically long-lasting and the recovery is usually easy. However, some narrowed mitral valves are too calcified to be treated with valvuloplasty. Your cardiologist will perform an echocardiogram (echo) to determine if you’re eligible.

Aortic valvuloplasty also may be performed on patients with other problems, such as infections or bleeding, and those who need to be stabilized before they can have other procedures. Valvuloplasty can also be performed to allow patients to recover from these short-term problems until they can undergo definitive, replacement of their valve either surgically (SAVR) or via a catheter (TAVR).

Pulmonary valvuloplasty may be a good option in some patients with pulmonary atresia with an intact ventricular septum (PA/IVS). This occurs when babies are born without a functioning pulmonary valve (the valve located between the heart’s lower right chamber (right ventricle) and the pulmonary artery, which leads to the lungs. Instead, a nonopening plate of tissue exists where the valve is supposed to be.