Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

(asked on 21st July 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the NHS plans to commission more centres to provide percutaneous mitral valve leaflet repair for primary degenerative mitral regurgitation, in line with NHS England’s commissioning policy of July 2019.


Answered by
Jo Churchill Portrait
Jo Churchill
Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 6th September 2021

No specific assessment has been made. NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to provide access to mitral valve leaflet repair by commissioning on an interim basis from the three National Health Service trusts that supported the clinical evaluation of this procedure. All cardiology services in England were made aware they should continue to refer patients to these centres in advance of a formal provider selection taking place.

Data submitted to the National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes research (NICOR) registry indicates that 94 patients in 2018 and 175 patients in 2019 had mitral valve leaflet repair. Cardiology activity and completeness of NICOR data submissions were significantly impacted during 2020 due to COVID and therefore data is incomplete for that year. Overall, NHS England and NHS Improvement estimate that 4,000 patients may be considered for the mitral valve leaflet repair procedure and approximately 400 patients would be referred for the procedure per year after five years.


NHS England and NHS Improvement have confirmed the commissioning of a minimum of nine centres to provide percutaneous mitral valve leaflet repair for primary degenerative mitral regurgitation.

Reticulating Splines