Aortic stenosis is the result of a failure of the valves that regulate blood flow from the heart into the aorta to open completely. It can cause patients to experience chest pain or a feeling of tightness in the chest, palpitations, weakness and shortness of breath, especially when they are active. Aortic stenosis can be cured by surgical replacement of the aortic valve, but many patients are too unwell to undergo the procedure. This group of patients can be treated with a new surgical approach. This procedure can be done with a small incision in the groin or between the ribs, and does not require open-heart surgery. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved transcatheter aortic valve implantation in patients with aortic stenosis who are not candidates for open-heart surgery. The procedure is similar to balloon angioplasty in that it is performed by puncturing a long, flexible catheter into an artery with a balloon device at its tip, which dilates to reopen the narrowed artery. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation is performed with a folded, very small diameter prosthetic valve outside the balloon. The prosthetic valve is placed in the patient’s aortic valve, and the balloon is then dilated to open the prosthetic valve and compress and secure it in the diseased valve. The balloon drains and the prosthetic valve begins to work. Patients usually notice an immediate improvement in their symptoms. Because the procedure is done under minimally invasive conditions, patients recover very quickly after surgery. The procedure is usually a collaborative effort between an interventional cardiologist, cardiac surgeon, anesthesiologist, cardiac ultrasonographer, and extracorporeal circulator. Although the procedure is currently used only in high-risk patients, its indications are gradually being expanded to include a wider range of patients with aortic stenosis.