Atlanta, March 15: Many people in the US with leaky heart valves soon might be able to get them fixed without open-heart surgery. A study showed that a tiny clip implanted through an artery was safer and nearly as effective as surgery, doctors reported on Sunday.
The device is already on sale in Europe, and its maker, Abbott Laboratories, hopes to win approval to sell it in the US in 2009. Elizabeth Taylor reportedly got one last year – the 77-year-old told fans about it on Twitter.
About eight million people in the US and Europe have leaky mitral valves – the valve between the heart’s left upper and lower chambers. Not all are so bad they need treatment, but the worst cases can lead to heart failure over time.
In the study, six times more people who had surgery suffered complications during the next month than those who got Abbott’s MitraClip. Deaths, strokes and blood transfusions were less common with the device. The clip was not dramatically less effective than surgery after one year.
Doctors called the study a watershed – the first big test of repairing or replacing heart valves through arteries rather than drastic surgery.
—Agencies