What is Cardiovascular Disease?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to a group of disorders that affect the heart and blood vessels. One common and serious form of CVD is aortic valve disease, particularly aortic stenosis, where the aortic valve becomes narrowed and restricts blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body.

What is TAVI? and How does it works?

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) is a minimally invasive procedure used to treat severe aortic stenosis — a condition where the aortic valve becomes narrowed, restricting blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body. Unlike traditional open-heart surgery, TAVI allows doctors to replace the diseased valve without opening the chest. The procedure typically begins with a small incision in the groin, where a catheter is inserted into the femoral artery and guided through the blood vessels to the heart. This catheter carries a collapsible artificial valve made from biological tissue (often from pig or cow) mounted on a metal stent. Once it reaches the native aortic valve, the new valve is carefully positioned inside the diseased one. The old valve isn’t removed — instead, it is pushed aside as the new valve expands, either with the help of a balloon (balloon-expandable) or automatically (self-expanding). The newly implanted valve immediately begins regulating blood flow effectively, restoring normal function.

Throughout the procedure, imaging techniques like echocardiography and fluoroscopy help the medical team confirm proper valve placement and function. Once deployed, the catheter is withdrawn and the incision is closed. Because it is much less invasive than surgery, recovery is faster — most patients are out of bed within a day, and back to daily activities within a week or two. TAVI is especially beneficial for patients who are elderly, frail, or at high surgical risk, but has increasingly become an option even for those at low or intermediate risk. Overall, TAVI has transformed the treatment of aortic valve disease by offering a safer, faster, and highly effective alternative to open-heart valve replacement.