Valvular heart diseases are common and become increasingly prevalent as the population ages. Aortic valve stenosis is the most common valvular heart disease requiring treatment in Europe and the USA, with a prevalence of around 2 percent in over 65-year-olds and up to 5 percent in over 85-year-olds. The prognosis for high-grade aortic valve stenosis is poor and there is no drug therapy. Surgical or interventional aortic valve replacement is the only curative option. Understanding the disease and its mechanisms is important for new preventive therapies.
Degenerative calcific aortic valve stenosis is the most common form of acquired aortic valve stenosis and affects the tricuspid valve between the left ventricle and the aorta. A special form is bicuspid aortic valve stenosis, a congenital malformation characterized by only two valve leaflets, which occurs in 1-2 percent of the population and increases the risk of aortic valve stenosis.
Mitral valve insufficiency (MI) is the second most common heart valve disease requiring treatment in Europe after aortic valve stenosis, with a prevalence of over 10 percent in people over the age of 75. It can be primarily degenerative or secondarily functional. The complex anatomy of the mitral valve makes it difficult to treat, especially in high-risk patients, requiring new minimally invasive therapies.
The CCM ABCD is one of the largest centers for heart valve therapies in Europe and facilitates large multicenter studies. It has set itself the task of defining the development and progression of valvular heart disease, identifying risk factors and optimizing treatment procedures and aftercare in clinical practice. Data is collected in large registries and biobanks and cooperation with national and international partners is promoted.
