On October 17, 2016, an Orlando Health cardiac team successfully implanted the first totally percutaneous MitraClip® at Orlando Health Orlando Regional Medical Center to treat a patient with severe mitral valve regurgitation. The MitraClip team includes Vijay Kasi, MD, PhD; Steven Hoff, MD; Deepak Vivek, MD; Carolina Demori, MD; Illena Antonetti, MD; Arnold Einhorn, MD; and Aurelio Duran, MD.

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most common type of heart valve disease. Nearly 1 in 10 people age 75 and older have moderate or severe MR, affecting approximately 4 million people in the U.S. MR is a progressive condition that occurs when the flaps of the heart's mitral valve do not close completely, causing blood to flow backward into the left atrium of the heart. This requires the heart to work harder, placing an extra burden on the heart and lungs. If untreated, MR can eventually cause serious problems, such as heart failure, which can be life-threatening.