Understanding Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)

This animation by Edwards Lifesciences explains aortic stenosis and the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). It details the thickening process of aortic stenosis where the flaps of the aortic valve become calcified over time, limiting their ability to open and close correctly. This causes multiple cardiac symptoms. Traditionally treatment was open-heart surgery, but the TAVR procedure offers an option to replace the valve without a large chest incision or using a heart lung bypass machine. During the TAVR procedure the heart is accessed through an artery near the top of the leg. Through a catheter, the valve is threaded up to the heart and placed directly inside the existing aortic valve. Then it is expanded with a ballon, securing it inside the heart’s valve.