BEFORE YOU CHOOSE A VALVE PATH
YOUR INCISION SHOULD BE YOUR DECISION™
A less invasive procedure can be the right answer—but the incision is only one part of the decision. A cardiac surgeon and cardiologist independently review your complete record, compare the documented paths, and co-sign one clear written report from $495.
IndicationIs intervention supported now?
TAVR fitAccess and anatomical constraints
Surgical fitWhat surgery could address
Lifetime planDurability and future options
Aortic valve reviewTHE DECISION BEFORE THE PROCEDURE
TAVR and surgical valve replacement are treatments—not diagnoses. The record should first establish what is wrong with the valve, how severe it is, how the heart is responding, what symptoms may be attributable to it, and why the decision is being made now.
When findings disagree, the right next step may be better measurement or another study—not an immediate leap to either procedure.
THE WHOLE-CASE COMPARISON
These are the questions the complete record must help answer. They are not a candidacy checklist and do not replace an in-person Heart Valve Team evaluation.
Symptoms, valve severity, ventricular response, testing, disease trajectory, and the treating team’s rationale come before the choice of procedure.
Valve dimensions, calcification, coronary height, annular and root anatomy, vascular access, and prior implants can affect transcatheter feasibility.
Coronary disease, another valve, the aortic root or ascending aorta, rhythm disease, and other structural findings may change the value of a surgical approach.
Age, anticipated longevity, valve durability, coronary access, pacemaker considerations, and the feasibility of future valve procedures belong in the first decision.
Procedure-specific risk estimates are useful only when the inputs are complete and interpreted beside frailty, anatomy, organ function, and factors the models do not capture.
Recovery, durability, avoiding sternotomy, future options, uncertainty, support at home, and willingness to accept tradeoffs should be made visible—not assumed.
TAVR AND SURGERY, SIDE BY SIDE
The meaningful comparison is case-specific. It should include what each approach can treat now and what it may make easier—or harder—later.
A catheter-based valve procedure, most often evaluated for transfemoral access.
An operation that removes the diseased valve and allows direct repair or treatment of other cardiac problems when needed.
Whether an appropriately sized transcatheter valve can treat the aortic valve without an open operation.
Whether the valve, aorta, coronary arteries, or additional valves can be addressed together and with direct visualization.
Vascular access, valve and root anatomy, coronary obstruction or future coronary access, paravalvular leak, pacemaker risk, and long-term strategy.
Operative recovery, re-entry or incision considerations, cardiopulmonary bypass, organ reserve, and procedure-specific surgical risk.
Valve durability, valve-in-valve feasibility, coronary access, and the consequences of a later surgical operation.
Prosthesis choice, durability, anticoagulation when relevant, and whether a future transcatheter valve could fit inside the surgical valve.
A record review can organize the documented tradeoffs. Only the treating team can determine procedural eligibility after clinical evaluation.
YOUR WHITEGLOVE Insights™ REPORT
Built from your source record, reviewed by both specialties, and written so you can use it with the clinicians who know you.
Aortic valve reviewIndependent WHITEGLOVE Heart Team review
The documented stenosis or regurgitation, symptoms, ventricular response, and why intervention is being discussed now.
Where the cardiac surgeon and cardiologist agree, where uncertainty remains, and what should be clarified with the treating team.
The decision placed beside current valve guidelines and the case details that make those recommendations relevant.
Applicable risk models, the source inputs, important limitations, and factors those estimates may not fully capture.
A patient-facing explanation of the aortic valve, annulus, root, coronaries, access vessels, and other findings in the record.
The potential benefits, burdens, constraints, and future implications of each reasonable pathway in your case.
Discordant measurements, incomplete imaging, unresolved coronary questions, or additional studies to discuss before committing.
A concise list for the valve specialist, interventional cardiologist, cardiac surgeon, and your family.
One report. Two clinical perspectives.Start with the written review; add live time only if you want it.
Start the $495 review
YOUR WHITEGLOVE Heart Team
A cardiologist evaluates the valve diagnosis, medical context, imaging, catheter feasibility, and longitudinal plan. A cardiac surgeon evaluates operative indication, anatomy, what surgery could address, prosthesis strategy, and future options.
They review independently, then confer and co-sign one report—so the patient does not have to reconcile two disconnected notes.
Meet the WHITEGLOVE Heart TeamHOW IT WORKS
We help assemble the evidence before the clinical clock starts.
Begin with WHITEGLOVE Insights™ from $495. A live physician consultation is optional on higher tiers.
Upload what you have. With authorization, the records team can help obtain valve notes, reports, catheterization, CT, and source imaging.
The clinical review begins only after the relevant records and imaging needed for the case have been received and confirmed.
A cardiac surgeon and cardiologist each review the complete case, then confer around the decision.
The written report is delivered within 24 hours after the required record is complete and gives you a clearer next conversation.
START WITH THE WRITTEN REVIEW
Every package begins with the same dual-physician medical-record review.
A cardiac surgeon and cardiologist review the complete valve record and co-sign one patient-facing report.
TAVR SECOND OPINION FAQ
Still deciding whether a records review fits? Start with a complimentary orientation call.
Request a callA TAVR second opinion is an independent review of the aortic-valve diagnosis, imaging, proposed transcatheter procedure, surgical alternative, risk context, and unanswered questions. At WHITEGLOVEMD, a cardiac surgeon and cardiologist review the complete record independently and co-sign one patient-facing WHITEGLOVE Insights™ report.
No. TAVR places a replacement aortic valve through a catheter and does not require the same open surgical approach as surgical aortic valve replacement. The procedures have different access requirements, technical capabilities, recovery profiles, limitations, and future implications. The treating Heart Valve Team determines whether either approach is appropriate.
The comparison can include symptoms, valve severity, age and anticipated longevity, surgical risk, frailty, transfemoral access, valve and aortic anatomy, coronary disease, other valves, prior operations, expected durability, coronary access, future valve options, and patient goals. No single factor determines the answer in every case.
No. Age and anticipated longevity are important, but they are not the only considerations. Anatomy, access, other cardiac disease, surgical risk, valve durability, future coronary and valve procedures, functional status, and patient preferences also matter. A treating Heart Valve Team must individualize the choice.
Predicted surgical risk is only one part of the decision. Current U.S. valve guidance considers age, expected longevity, transfemoral feasibility, anatomy, indications for intervention, and shared decision-making in addition to surgical risk. Device labeling, local expertise, and the treating team’s evaluation also apply.
The exact record varies, but it may include echocardiography, the TAVR planning CT with source images, cardiac catheterization or coronary imaging, ECG, laboratory results, specialist notes, and prior operative or valve records. Upload what you have; the records team can help identify and request missing materials with authorization.
Coronary height and access, the aortic annulus and root, calcification, bicuspid anatomy, ascending-aortic disease, and coronary artery disease can influence procedural feasibility, complications, whether another problem needs treatment, and the options available later. These details require review of the actual record and imaging.
TAVR may be considered in selected patients with bicuspid anatomy, but suitability is case-specific. Valve shape and calcification, aortic-root and ascending-aortic dimensions, coronary anatomy, access, age, expected longevity, and the need for other surgery all require careful evaluation by the treating Heart Valve Team.
Additional coronary, valve, rhythm, or aortic disease can change the comparison because surgery may allow more than one problem to be addressed in a single operation, while staged or catheter-based strategies may be possible in selected cases. The report organizes the documented options and tradeoffs for discussion with your treating team.
When applicable and supported by complete inputs, the review considers validated procedure-specific risk models and explains their limitations. A calculator does not capture every anatomical, functional, frailty, or technical factor and cannot predict an individual outcome with certainty.
WHITEGLOVE Insights™ starts at $495. It includes independent review by a cardiac surgeon and cardiologist, their conference around the decision, and one co-signed written report. Higher tiers add optional live consultation and concierge support.
The 24-hour medical-review window begins only after all records and imaging required for the case have been received and confirmed complete. Time spent requesting or obtaining missing materials is outside that window.
No referral is required, and the medical-record review is completed virtually. Travel is not required for the review. An in-person evaluation may still be required by any team considering a procedure.
WHITEGLOVEMD provides educational decision support and independent medical-record review. The report organizes the evidence, reasonable pathways, tradeoffs, uncertainties, and questions. It does not diagnose, prescribe, determine candidacy, choose a procedure, or replace the clinicians responsible for your care.
Call 911 or seek immediate emergency care for new or severe chest pain, severe shortness of breath, fainting, stroke symptoms, or rapid worsening. Do not wait for an online records review when symptoms may represent an emergency.
DO NOT DELAY URGENT CARE
Call 911 or seek immediate emergency care for new or severe chest pain, severe shortness of breath, fainting, stroke symptoms, or rapid worsening. Ask the treating team whether there is time for another review in any urgent situation.
BEFORE THE VALVE DECISION
Two independent specialists. One co-signed report. A clearer next conversation.
