Percutaneous intervention for mitral regurgitation.

Percutaneous treatment of mitral regurgitation (MR) is a promising alternative for patients with functional MR (FMR) who are not appropriate for surgery and are not responding to optimal medical therapy and cardiac resynchronization therapy. Unlike degenerative MR, where repair therapy is clearly preferred, the optimal approach for FMR has not been defined. Challenges for novel mitral repair devices are to demonstrate safety and superior efficacy to medical management in higher risk patients. Transcatheter mitral valve replacement is emerging as a feasible therapy, but requires significant additional clinical trials to define its place in treating heart failure related to MR.