Dr. Kenneth Liao, chief of the division of cardiothoracic transplantation and circulatory support in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, tells you what you need ...

The chambers of the heart operate as a ‘double-pump’ system for the body’s circulation. In coordination with valves, the chambers work to keep blood flowing in the proper sequence.

Cardiologists were wary of replacing valves partly because, until recent decades, that would have required open-heart surgery, a risk that hardly seemed worth taking for patients who were able to ...