Heart and Vascular Services

• Locations
• Cardiac Surgery
  • Adult Heart Transplant
  • Aortic Aneurysm Repair
  • Atrial Fibrillation Maze Surgery
  • Bypass Surgery
  • Adult Congenital Heart Clinic
  • Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
  • Left Ventricular Assist
  • Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery
  • Transmyocardial Revascularization
  • Valve Surgery
    • Aortic Valve
    • Mitral Valve
    • Meet Our Surgeons
    • Research
    • For Physicians
• Interventional Cardiology
• Heart Rhythm Treatments
• Healing Vascular Disease
• Diagnostic Tests
• Patient Support Services
• Cardiac Rehabilitation
• Heart Education and Wellness

Research

Research conducted by Inova Heart and Vascular Institute’s cardiac surgeons finds that mitral valve repair — fixing the mitral valve so it functions properly, rather than replacing it — has risen sharply in the last decade and continues to increase.

At Inova, the rate has nearly doubled — from 37.5 percent of cases in 1996 to more than 78 percent in 2006. This is well above the national average, which is about 55 percent. For patients with degenerative valve disease, Inova’s repair rate is more than 90 percent.

Improved technology, greater understanding of mitral valve disease, enhanced surgical techniques and increased surgical experience have contributed to the rise.

Inova Heart and Vascular Institute is nationally known for implementing the da Vinci® surgical system for minimally invasive mitral valve repair in the 1990s. Now, both robotic and non-robotic techniques are available. 

Patient benefits include:

• Less-invasive surgery, shorter hospital stay, faster recovery
• No change in normal heart architecture
• Better left ventricular function after surgery
• No need for repeat surgery due to prosthetic valve degeneration or infection
• No need to take life-long blood thinning medications to prevent blood clots