Heidi Splete is a senior writer with Elsevier Global Medical News. WASHINGTON — Repairing aortic and mitral valves has shown benefits in older adults, and percutaneous repair may as well. “Almost one in four older individuals has aortic valve disease,” Navin C. Nanda, MD, president of the Society of Geriatric Cardiology, said at the Society's annual meeting. Dr. Nanda, director of the Heart Station/Echocardiography Laboratories at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, shared results from several studies that support the benefits of aortic valve stenosis surgery in older adults. Findings from a recent study of octogenarians showed an average survival rate of 86.1% at 1 year after the surgery, with an operative mortality rate of 8% (J. Heart Valve Dis. 2007;16:139-144). “The magnitude of improvement is similar to that in younger patients,” Dr. Nanda said. “Thus age itself should not contraindicate surgery.” Results from a similar study of aortic valve replacement surgery in patients with an average age of 84 years showed that quality of life scores in these patients were comparable with scores for people older than 75 years in the general population (Circulation 2000;102 [19 Suppl 3]:III70-4). Some patients, especially older adults, are worried about complications associated with open-chest procedures, Dr. Nanda noted. “A new thing that is not ready for prime time, but could be ready for prime time in the next few years, is percutaneous valve replacement,” he said. Data on percutaneous procedures in older adults are limited, but percutaneous aortic valve replacement was associated with significant improvement in functional class, left ventricular ejection fraction, and mitral regurgitation in a study of 50 high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis and an average age of 82 years (Circulation 2007;116:755-63). Similarly, percutaneous techniques are showing promise for mitral repair in older patients. Dr. Nanda discussed an ongoing study of a percutaneous technique for mitral repair. Patients in the Endovascular Valve Edge-to-Edge Repair Study II range in age from 26 to 88 years, but the median age is 71 years and 62% of the patients are at least 65 years old. “I think there is a lot of promise in these new percutaneous techniques,” Dr. Nanda said. Dr. Nanda disclosed that he received an honorarium from Philips, which produces products for heart valve repair and replacement.