There has been a clear increase in the number of techniques in animal experiments dealing with various approaches to nonsurgical modification of heart valve diseases. It is also evident that some of the methods háve already been put to use in clinical practice. This páper presents an overview of various options of the handling this issue and provides some morphological observations. It seems it is still too early to evaluate the different methods intended for a permanent solution to various cardiac valve defects. This is because relatively few procedures have been performed to dáte and, more importantly, nothing is known about the durability of the procedures. In addition, the standard of current cardiac surgery is very high. Slili, it is quite easy to accept the idea for temporary catheter-based treatment of types of diseases currently not eligible for surgery, or in cases where surgery would be associated with unacceptably high risk.

        Key words: experimental methods, heart valve diseases, nonsurgical techniques