Proceedings of the TCT: balloon aortic valvuloplasty appropriate for elderly valve patients.

Balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) has been a highly successful therapy for children and young adults with aortic valve stenosis, resulting in both symptomatic improvement and durable increases in the aortic valve area. Despite enthusiasm for BAV in older adult patients with aortic valve stenosis in the mid-1980s, the therapy has had disappointing medium- and long-term outcomes. Survival of patients with aortic valve stenosis does not increase with BAV, and restenosis occurs in the vast majority of patients within 6-24 months after therapy. Despite these limitations, most patients are symptomatically improved for a year or more. BAV remains an effective palliative therapy for selected patients.