<\/p>\n
![\"Calcified](\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/Images\/calcified-aortic-valve-bicuspid.jpg\")
\nCalcified Aortic Heart Valve (Aortic Stenosis<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To provide Gwen an expert response, I contacted Doctor Junaid Khan, the Director of Cardiovascular Services at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center<\/a>. As you may have seen, Dr. Khan and Alta Bates have hosted several educational seminars for patients<\/a> in Northern California.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In his response, Dr. Khan noted:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The short answer to Gwen’s question is no. There is no current technology to de-calcify a valve. There are several “gimmicks” that patients find on the web. Some of these gimmicks reference chelation therapy. However, none of these approaches have been scientifically validated.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Khan went on to address the growing use of aortic valve repair for patients as an alternative to aortic valve replacement<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aortic valve repair is on the rise for calcified heart valves<\/a> — although, this surgical technique is not used to the extent of mitral valve repair. The technique is generally reserved for patients with aortic insufficiency with normal leaflets and just dilatation. The theory and hope is that an aortic valve repair<\/a> will have greater longevity than a bioprosthetic valve. However, there is not a consensus yet on techniques for repair — or its validity.\u00a0 The real problem is the inability to dynamically check the repair during surgery — like you can with a mitral repair. Also, the lack of a subvalvular support struture (like the mitral) limits the types of repair that can be done. The skeptics believe, you are just turning severe aortic regurgitation<\/a> into mild aortic stenosis which is better tolerated and will hopefully last longer than a bioprostethic valve.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/profileImages\/144.jpg\")
\nDr. Junaid Khan, MD<\/p>\n