Aortic valve disease care at Mayo Clinic
Your Mayo Clinic care team
A multidisciplinary team of doctors trained in heart conditions (cardiologists), doctors trained in heart surgery (cardiovascular surgeons) and other experienced care professionals work together to determine the most appropriate treatment for your aortic valve disease. This collaborative approach often means doctors can evaluate you and develop a treatment plan within 2 to 3 days. Mayo Clinic provides care for you as a whole person. The health care team takes the time to get to know you and works with you to provide exactly the care you need.
Advanced diagnosis
Mayo Clinic health care professionals use a variety of advanced imaging techniques, including 3D echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography, to accurately diagnose aortic valve disease and other heart conditions.
For example, multidetector computerized tomography (MDCT) can be used to evaluate aortic valve stenosis and determine its severity. In MDCT, several cross-sectional images are taken of the aortic valve, and the aortic valve is measured. This imaging test can also measure the amount of calcium in the aortic valve.
Innovative treatment
Mayo cardiovascular surgeons use advanced surgical procedures to do aortic valve repair or replacement. Surgeons also may perform minimally invasive heart surgery, which uses smaller incisions than those used in open-heart surgery. Mayo Clinic surgeons may use 3D-printed models of the heart and valves to prepare for heart valve surgery.
Expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic doctors in the Valvular Heart Disease Clinic have extensive experience and expertise evaluating and treating people with aortic valve disease and other types of valvular heart disease. Mayo cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons evaluate and treat more than 9,500 people with aortic valve disease each year.
Doctors trained in treating children with heart disease, called pediatric cardiologists, work with pediatric cardiovascular surgeons at Mayo Clinic's campus in Minnesota to care for children with aortic valve disease and other heart diseases.
Nationally recognized expertise
Mayo Clinic campuses are nationally recognized for expertise in cardiology and cardiovascular surgery:
- Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for heart and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report.
- Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.
- Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz., are ranked as high performing for aortic valve replacement and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures by U.S. News & World Report. "High performing" is a designation given to the top 16% of TAVR programs across the nation (600+ programs). U.S News & World Report ranked hospitals for this procedure for the first time in 2022-2023.
With Mayo Clinic's emphasis on collaborative care, specialists at each of the campuses — Arizona, Florida and Minnesota — interact very closely with colleagues at the other campuses and the Mayo Clinic Health System.
Learn more about Mayo Clinic's cardiovascular surgery and cardiovascular medicine departments' expertise and rankings.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
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Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.