Updated guidelines are aimed at standardizing valvular heart disease care across Europe

The updated ESC/EACTS instructions, published today in the ESC Congress 2025, aim to improve the way patients with valvular heart disease are diagnosed and treated, responding to strong new elements that indicate some newer and less invasive treatments could be widely used.

Updated ESC/EACTS guidelines have been produced by an international team of experts including Professor Fabien Praz, an interventionist cardiologist at Bern University Hospital and Professor Michael Borger, Director of Cardiac Surgery, University of Germany.

ESC/EACTS guidelines give up -to -date recommendations on when less invasive techniques should be used, such as the implantation of transcatheter aortic valve or minimum invasive surgery mitral valve to treat heart valve disease. Updated guidance is based on recently published research findings, including those of large randomized controlled tests.

Professor Michael Borger explained the importance of up -to -date guidance: “We see a different clinical practice for the treatment of patients with valvular heart disease throughout Europe – from areas where clinical practice is well in front of the recommendations of the guidelines where the guidelines will not be found.

“Fortunately there was a rapid increase in medical knowledge, including the one created by randomized controlled tests.

Valve heart disease is where one or more valves in the heart do not work properly. Symptoms may include dyspnoea, dizziness, fatigue, swollen ankles or legs and chest pain, although some patients with the disease have no symptoms at all.

Aortic stenosis is the most commonly cured valve heart disease in developed countries and is estimated to affect 9 million people worldwide, while the most common type (healed and non -treatment), mitral reflux is considered to be about 24 million people. The percentages of most types of valvary heart disease increase with age, mainly affecting elderly patients with other medical conditions.

The new “2025 ESC/EACTS guidelines for the management of valvary heart disease” provide clear practical recommendations to help health care providers in daily clinical decision -making. The recommendations were developed with interdisciplinary consensus of experts after a thorough review, analysis and weighing of the available bibliography.

The updated ESC/EACTS guidelines also emphasize the importance of making decisions with audiences and patients from multi -scientific groups of heart experts. They recommend patients with complex conditions or require complex procedures, they should refer to high -volume medical centers where they can have access to specialized medical knowledge.

We know that many patients with valvular heart disease do not receive the right treatment when needed. An important objective of this new guidance is to reduce under treatment, especially in the elderly, because it helps to use the healthcare resources and to reduce life duration, “he explained

Professor Fabien Praz, invasive cardiologist at Bern University Hospital

“We want patients to get the best treatment for them at the right time, while at the same time ensuring that patients with complex needs are treated in multi -scientific groups in experienced centers with the necessary experience.

New ESC/EACTS instructions also:

• Recognize the increasingly important role of advanced imaging techniques, such as 3D echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography (CCT) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in the detection and evaluation of patients with valve heart disease patients

The new guidelines provide an important update on previous guidelines 2021 ESC/EACTS for the management of valvular heart disease (VHD).