Aortic valve replacement is a cariac surgery procedure in which a patient's aortic valve is replaced by a different valve. The aortic valve can be affected by a range of diseases; the valve can either become leaky (aortic insufficiency / regurgitation) or partially blocked (aortic stenosis). Aortic valve replacement currently requires open heart surgery. percutaneous aortic valve replacement, which allows the implantation of valves using a catheter without open heart surgery is still being evaluated in clinical trials and is appearing to be promising in patients who are at high risk to undergo open heart surgery.