Challenges in Current Management of Valvular Heart Disease. Thinking Outside the Box |Biomedgrid

Management of valvular heart disease (VHD) is a continuously evolving process: since a prosthetic mechanical valve was firstly implanted in humans, technical advancements in diagnosis and treatment of VHD have taught us that we should always keep the well-proven and be open-minded to something new. According to current guidelines, management of VHD is mainly based on an intricate puzzle, relying on fine diagnosis, accurate prognostic stratification and tailored treatment. Despite all efforts, some gaps in knowledge still exist concerning appropriate patient selection and correct timing of treatment, which sometimes leads us to consider the need of “thinking outside the box” in current clinical practice.