“Heart valve disease” refers to a life-threatening condition in which a patient's heart valves do not function properly. One cause of heart valve disease is regurgitation, in which some reflux is present, causing hemodynamic problems. However, this type of condition most often affects the mitral valve and its treatment has evolved to avoid valve replacement in favor of restorative techniques2, 4. For the aortic valve, the most common type of dysfunction is aortic stenosis, in where the flaps of the aortic valve the heart valves can no longer open completely and not enough blood can pass through them. Unlike the treatment of mitral valve prolapse, which is the main cause of regurgitation, aortic stenosis (AS) is mainly resolved by valve replacement. This is because aortic stenosis only causes symptoms once it has passed the point of being considered serious3. Stenosis most often occurs as a result of calcification, making it particularly prevalent in older people, who are more prone to calcium deposits. A patient advisory article from John Muir Health cites a figure of 1,500,000 patients living with AS in the United States, of whom 250,000 have severe but not symptomatic AS, and 250,000 have severe but non-symptomatic AS. symptomatic. Half of people with symptomatic AS only survive two years on average5. The extent of aortic valve disease makes it a key target for the medical device industry, particularly due to the age range of patients. The fact that many elderly patients also suffer from other age-related illnesses makes open-heart valve replacement not ideal. Many patients would not survive the trauma of such surgery. Additionally, open heart surgery...... middle of paper ......placement. Accessed April 9, 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.ezp3.lib.umn.edu/pmc/articles/PMC3707191/(2) Bhimji, S., MD, Ph. D. (14 May 2012). Heart valve surgery: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Accessed April 9, 2014, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002954.htm(3). What are the causes of heart valve disease? (November 15, 2012). Accessed April 9, 2014, from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hvd/causes.html(4). What is heart valve disease? (November 16, 2011). Accessed April 20, 2014, from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hvd/(5) Statistics on the prevalence and treatment of aortic stenosis in the United States. (nd). Facts and figures. Accessed April 30, 2014, from https://www.johnmuirhealth.com/services/cardiovascular-services/intervention/transcatheter-aortic-valve-replacement/facts-and-figures.html#!prettyPhoto