Improving blood flow through the heart’s aortic valve
Aortic valvuloplasty is a procedure to open the aortic valve inside your heart. The flaps of the aortic valve open and close to allow blood to flow from the heart to the aorta, the body’s largest artery. If the flaps become thick or stiff, less blood will flow to the aorta and the rest of the body, weakening the heart.
The world-renowned experts in our Interventional Cardiology Program use this and other balloon valvuloplasty procedures to care for patients’ hearts. We’re typically one of the first sites in the nation to evaluate new procedures, and we’re one of the region’s highest-volume centers for these minimally invasive techniques.
Your doctor may recommend aortic valvuloplasty as an alternative to repairing or replacing the aortic valve. You may be a good candidate for this procedure if you’re waiting for a valve replacement or if you’re not strong enough for repair or replacement surgery.
What to expect during aortic valvuloplasty
Aortic valvuloplasty is done in the hospital. Your doctor will make a small incision in a blood vessel of your arm or groin and insert a thin, flexible tube called a catheter. This catheter has a balloon at the tip. The doctor will thread the catheter up to your aortic valve and inflate the balloon, which widens the valve’s opening. The doctor will then deflate the balloon and remove it and the catheter.
You’ll likely need to stay in the hospital overnight. This procedure should improve your symptoms, which may return if the aortic valve begins to narrow again. You may need to have another aortic valvuloplasty in the future, or you may need to have your aortic valve repaired or replaced.
Conditions
Aortic stenosis
Aortic stenosis, also known as aortic valve stenosis, is a narrowing of the aortic valve.
Tests
Echocardiogram
An echocardiogram uses high-frequency sound waves to create images of your heart.
Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE)
Transesophageal echocardiogram allows us to take very detailed images of your heart structure from a probe in your esophagus.
Our providers
Location: Change location Enter your location
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Kidist Alemu, MD
Pediatrics, Pediatric Hospital Medicine & Emergency Medicine
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Ammar S Bafi, MD
Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Valvular Disease Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery & General Surgery
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Brian Thomas Bethea, MD
Emergency General Surgery, Cardiac Surgery, Thoracic Surgery & General Surgery
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Ashley Chenoweth, BSN MSN NP
Geriatric Medicine, Cardiac Surgery & Cardiovascular Disease
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Susan L. Davis, ACNP-BC BSN MSN
Cardiac Surgery
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Marjorie Fran Galler, MD
Pediatrics, Pediatric Hospital Medicine & Pediatric Emergency Medicine
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Jonathan Robert Gower, MD
Cardiac Surgery & Cardiothoracic Surgery
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Dureaden Khan, MS PA
Cardiac Surgery
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Kathleen J. Lavery, ACNP-BC MSN
Anesthesiology, Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiac Surgery & Cardiac Electrophysiology
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Lauren E. Lubrano, MD
Hospital Medicine, Pediatric Hospital Medicine & Pediatrics
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Thomas Edward MacGillivray, MD
General Surgery, Cardiac Surgery & Thoracic Surgery
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Cierra Catherine O'Neill, MPAS PA
Cardiac Surgery
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Toby Rogers, MD
Interventional Cardiology & Valvular Disease Cardiology
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Lowell F. Satler, MD
Interventional Cardiology, Valvular Disease Cardiology & Cardiovascular Disease
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Christian Charles Shults, MD
General Surgery, Valvular Disease Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery
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Ron Waksman, MD
Valvular Disease Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology & Cardiovascular Disease
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Insurance
MedStar Health accepts most major health insurance plans. If you are uncertain as to whether your individual health insurance plan is accepted at MedStar Health, please call your insurance company.