Comprehensive Heart Valve Program

USNWR TAVR badge

Your heart valves keep blood from flowing backward. Heart valve conditions can be present at birth, related to age or caused by another health condition.

Most patients with heart valve problems are concerned about the prospect of heart surgery. The Frankel Cardiovascular Center’s Comprehensive Heart Valve Program offers several minimally invasive and transcatheter options for valve repair and replacement.

Our world-renowned specialists work with you to identify the safest and most effective treatment option. We provide expert care to protect your health and help you feel better as quickly as possible.

USNWR Aortic Valve Surgery badge

Heart Valve Care: The Frankel Cardiovascular Center Distinction

Our program is designated by Newsweek as the 23rd best specialized hospital for cardiology and cardiac surgery in the world. We are leaders in: 

  • Experience: We have decades of experience repairing and replacing valves. Our surgeons perform a high volume of procedures each year, resulting in excellent patient outcomes.
  • Innovation: Heart valve treatments are evolving rapidly. Our specialists are at the forefront of clinical trials that provide novel, less invasive therapies not available at other centers.
  • Specialization: We have all types of cardiovascular specialists on our team, including interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and imaging experts that focus exclusively on heart valves.
  • Multidisciplinary teams: You benefit from the collective expertise of cardiovascular surgeons, cardiologists, radiologists, anesthesiologists, nurse practitioners, nurse care coordinators and other staff. This team-based model enhances our ability to meet your needs.
  • Individualized treatments: Our specialists work together to evaluate your condition. We then meet with you to discuss your treatment options and decide what’s right for you.

Patient-Centered Care

Within the Frankel Cardiovascular Center, we provide patient-centered care. We treat you how we’d treat our own family.

  • Our care coordinators, nurse practitioners and physician assistants serve as your main points of contact. They are familiar faces that help guide you before, during and after your heart valve treatment.
  • We encourage you to bring in a familiar person to provide support and ask questions. Having a companion helps you make decisions and reduces fear and anxiety.
  • Our staff strives to always communicate clearly. We want you to understand your condition and treatment options so you can fully participate in your care.
  • We invite our patients to serve as representatives on Frankel Cardiovascular Center committees. Patient representatives help us make decisions related to innovation, teaching and program development.

Heart Valve Disease

Heart valve conditions include regurgitation (leaky valve) and stenosis (narrowed valve). There are four valves in the heart that keep blood flowing in the right direction.

Illustration of the normal heart

Heart Valve Disease Treatment

We offer a range of treatments for heart valve disease:

  • Nonsurgical treatments involve medication and lifestyle modifications to relieve symptoms and prevent further valve damage.
  • Transcatheter-based approaches use catheters (thin tubes) that the doctor inserts into a blood vessel and guides to the heart. Catheters can also be inserted through a small incision in the chest.
  • Minimally invasive surgery allows the surgeon to reach the heart through an incision between the ribs.
  • Open-heart surgery requires the surgeon to open the chest cavity to access the heart.

See more about our innovative aortic valve treatments and procedures.

Explore our approaches to mitral valve repair and treatment.

Repeat Heart Valve Procedures

Sometimes mechanical valves wear out and need to be replaced again. Some patients have had an unsuccessful valve procedure performed elsewhere. Our doctors are experienced in unique treatment approaches, often minimally invasive or transcatheter, for patients with previous valve repair or replacement.

Make an Appointment

To schedule an evaluation with a Frankel Cardiovascular Center physician, call 888-287-1082. Or visit the Make a Cardiovascular Appointment page to learn what to expect when you call us.

Physicians: To refer a patient, call M-Line at 800-962-3555.