RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 ‘Valve for Life’: tackling the deficit in transcatheter treatment of heart valve disease in the UK JF Open Heart JO Open Heart FD British Cardiovascular Society SP e001547 DO 10.1136/openhrt-2020-001547 VO 8 IS 1 A1 Noman Ali A1 Amir Faour A1 John Rawlins A1 Sam Dawkins A1 Clare E Appleby A1 Philip MacCarthy A1 Jonathan Byrne A1 Uday Trivedi A1 Nick Curzen A1 Adrian P Banning A1 Peter Ludman A1 Daniel J Blackman YR 2021 UL http://openheart.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001547.abstract AB Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a proven treatment for life-threatening aortic valve disease, predominantly severe aortic stenosis. However, even among developed nations, access to TAVI is not uniform. The Valve for Life initiative was launched by the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions in 2015 with the objective of improving access to transcatheter valve interventions across Europe. The UK has been identified as a country with low penetration of these procedures and has been selected as the fourth nation to be included in the initiative. Specifically, the number of TAVI procedures carried out in the UK is significantly lower than almost all other European nations. Furthermore, there is substantial geographical inequity in access to TAVI within the UK. As a consequence of this underprovision, waiting times for TAVI are long, and mortality among those waiting intervention is significant. This article reviews these issues, reports new data on access to TAVI in the UK and presents the proposals of the UK Valve for Life team to address the current problems in association with the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society.