The focus of CardiAQ Valve Technologies is on Mitral Regurgitation (MR) which is the most commonly occurring heart valve disease. It can be congenital or acquired and tends to increase with age. If left untreated, it ultimately leads to atrial fibrillation, heart muscle dysfunction, symptoms of congestive heart failure (CHF), and an increased risk of sudden death. Early-stage symptoms can be treated with drugs but, as the disease becomes more severe, patients require definitive treatment in the form of mitral heart valve replacement or repair.
Currently, these are open-chest/open-heart procedures that carry significant risk, especially for elderly patients and those with severe co-morbidities. Millions suffer from MR worldwide, yet only about 80,000 surgical repair or replacement procedures are performed each year. This significant treatment gap is largely due to the risk associated with the currently available surgeries. The development of less-invasive alternatives to surgical treatment options addresses a substantial unmet clinical need.
While several companies are attempting to develop less invasive approaches to repair the mitral valve, they have found limited anatomical applicability due to the heterogeneous nature of the disease and, so far, have had a difficult time demonstrating efficacy that is equivalent to surgical approaches. CardiAQ Valve Technologies (CVT) is developing innovative approaches to less invasive heart valve replacement and is totally focused on Transcatheter Mitral Valve Implantation (TMVI).
|
|