Thousands of patients with a common heart problem are being denied a keyhole operation that could significantly improve their lives and reduce the risk of death. Mitral regurgitation (MR), affecting about one in 50 people, is a potentially deadly condition caused by a leaky heart valve, leading to exhaustion and difficulty in performing daily activities. While open heart surgery is an option, it is often deemed risky. However, a new keyhole procedure called transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) has been developed by surgeons to treat more MR patients effectively.

TEER involves inserting a catheter in the patient’s groin to guide a small clip into the heart, which can reduce the leak and restore normal heart function. This procedure, taking only two hours with minimal recovery time and reduced complications, has shown to dramatically improve the quality of life for MR patients, even those severely ill. Despite its benefits, the NHS has limited the authorization of TEER to a specific patient category due to its cost of about £30,000 per patient, approximately twice the cost of open heart surgery.

Campaigners are advocating for a change in NHS rules to make TEER more widely accessible to patients with MR. By expanding the availability of this innovative procedure, more individuals could benefit from improved outcomes and enhanced quality of life. The potential of TEER to transform the lives of thousands of heart patients highlights the importance of addressing barriers to access and ensuring that innovative treatments are made available to those in need.