The procedure in which a failing valve is replaced with a healthy valve.

• A. Valve repair
• B. Valve replacement
• C. Valve dilation
• D. Valve catheterization

Answer: (B)

Replacing a diseased heart valve with a prosthetic valve is the procedure being referred to. When a valve is severely damaged or anatomy makes repair impractical, the valve is removed and a healthy prosthetic valve is implanted to restore proper blood flow. This can be done with open-heart surgery or via a catheter-based approach (transcatheter valve replacement). This differs from valve repair, which aims to fix and preserve the patient’s own valve, and from dilation, which widens the valve opening without replacing the valve. Catheterization is a method of accessing the heart and can be used in interventional procedures, but it is not itself the act of replacing a valve.