Coronary artery disease is common among patients considered for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). With the expansion of the indication for TAVI to a population with lower surgical risk, and therefore younger, there has been a gradual increase in the incidence of coronary events. However, there is limited data on treatment strategy and outcomes in…
Reinterventions in TAVR with Self-Expanding Valves
TAVR treatment of severe aortic stenosis is becoming more and more common, showing comparable evolution, or even superior in some studies when using the femoral approach, vs. surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). One of the current challenges is TAVR durability vs. SAVR. Even though 9 or 10 years has been deemed acceptable by current standards,…
12-Month Evolution of Edge-to-Edge Repair with PASCAL
Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most frequent valve disease. Mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER) has been shown beneficial in high or prohibitive risk patients in cases of degenerative and functional MR. The PASCAL device has been shown safe and effective by the CLASP II, but we still need further research in clinical “real world” environments. …
SMART Trial: What is the Best Valve for Small Annuli?
Transcatheter aortic valve intervention (TAVI) has been shown beneficial over the years. However, a significant subgroup of patients with small aortic annulus, which make approximately one third of cases and have a higher incidence in women, face additional challenge, such as higher incidence of mismatch, reduced exercise capacity and shorter durability. Self-expanding and balloon expandable…
ACC 2024 | SMART Trial: Self-Expanding or Balloon-Expandable TAVR in Patients with Small Aortic Annulus
Patients with severe aortic stenosis and a small aortic annulus face an increased risk of deteriorated valvular hemodynamic performance and adverse cardiovascular clinical outcomes after undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This study, a prospective multicenter randomized trial, aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of two types of valves: the supra-annular self-expanding EVOLUT (SEV)…
ACC 2024 | DEDICATE Trial: Transcatheter or Surgical Treatment of Aortic Valve Stenosis
In recent years, TAVR has been increasingly used; however, when it comes to younger, lower risk patients, its use is still challenged. In this context, there is limited information and we lack randomized studies on “real world” cohorts. The DEDICATE randomized 1.414 patients over 65 with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. 701 of these patients received…
Temporal Trends in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement for Isolated Severe Aortic Stenosis
A study by the Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Group Consortium recently published online identified all patients with aortic valve stenosis treated with surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement between 2016 and 2022 in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont (USA). These patients were divided for analysis into three age groups: under 65 years old, 65…
ACC 2024 | RELIEVE-HF
Heart failure is characterized by increased left atrial filling pressure and venous congestion which intensify with exercise and volume burden, and makes conventional medical management hard. In this context, interatrial shunting might offer a self-regulating mechanism, as shown by the Ventura IAS study. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy…
TAVR in the Different Types of Aortic Stenosis
Aortic stenosis (AS) is classified according to gradient into high flow and high gradient (D1), low flow-low gradient with reduced ejection fraction (D2), and paradoxical low flow-low gradient with conserved ejection fraction (D3). D3 AS is characterized by ≥50% ejection fraction, but with systolic volume index ≤35 ml/min. Post TAVR evolution of D2 and D3…
NOTION Trial: 10 Year Outcomes, TAVR vs. SAVR in Low Risk Patients
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has revolutionized the treatment of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). Randomized studies have shown the benefits of TAVR for treating inoperable patients, as well as high and intermediate risk patients. The NOTION (Nordic Aortic Valve Intervention Trial) randomized patients with low risk severe AS to TAVR or SAVR (surgical…
Guidewire Pacing and Pressure Assessment in TAVR: The SAFE-TAVI Study
Currently, the number of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures is increasing as it expands towards a lower-risk younger population. Therefore, continuous technological advancement is imperative to reduce post-procedural complications. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the SavyWire, a preformed 0.035-gauge guidewire that can perform three essential functions: 1) it facilitates prosthesis transportation…