Mitral valve replacement the bottom of the heart through a tube inserted in a small incision in the patient’s chest. The physician uses the tube to deploy the valve and positions it so that it rests over the heart's existing mitral valve. It is then anchored securely in place by an adjustable tether. The valve is fully retrievable, totally repositionable and is sewn onto a Nitinol frame. Nitinol is a superelastic nickel and titanium "shape memory alloy" whose flexibility eases implantation, but regains its original shape when it returns to a patient’s normal body temperature. The transition of TMVR from concept to reality
Mitral valve the left ventricle. It has two leaflets (or 'cusps'), an anteromedial leaflet, and a posterolateral leaftlet. The opening of the mitral valve is surrounded by a fibrous ring known as the "mitral annulus". The anterior cusp covers approximately two-thirds of the valve (imagine a crescent moon within the circle, where the crescent represents the posterior cusp). Although the anterior leaflet takes up a larger part of the ring and rises higher, the posterior leaflet has a larger surface area. The valve leaflets are prevented from prolapsing into the left atrium by the action of chordae tendineae. The chordae tendineae are