This study explores the impact of balloon post-dilation on studies conducted in the United States assessing the CoreValve self-expandable valve. Procedural details of 3532 patients were examined to determine whether post-dilation was performed after valve implantation. Best practice guidelines recommend post-dilation to improve suboptimal outcomes, being the most frequent alternative for treating moderate or severe…
Asymptomatic Severe Aortic Stenosis in the Elderly: When to Intervene
This work studies the natural history of aortic stenosis and the optimal timing to intervene elderly patients with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis. This disease is increasingly misdiagnosed in the elderly population, and this goes hand in hand with enhanced therapeutic options. Prior studies on the natural history of this disease were made on…
TAVR: Reasons to Consider Mitral Annular Calcification
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Aortic valve calcification and mitral annular calcification have the same etiology and are frequently present in high-risk patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The implications of mitral annular calcification for patients undergoing TAVR has not been entirely clarified yet. The study examined 782 patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent…
4 Readmission Predictors after Successful TAVR
Readmissions are frequent after cardiovascular procedures and they significantly increase healthcare costs. Data on readmission need within the first month after successful transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are limited. The registry included all TAVR patients surviving index hospitalization between January and February 2013 for readmission incidence, predictors, causes and costs within 30 days. …
Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement for Severe Mitral Regurgitation: A Global Study
Symptomatic mitral regurgitation is associated with high morbidity and mortality that can be alleviated partly by surgical mitral valve replacement. However, many patients do not undergo surgery. Transcatheter mitral valve replacement is an appealing option for this selected patient group. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness and safety of transcatheter mitral valve replacement…
Transcatheter Valve Thrombosis: Predictors, Incidence, and Events
This study sought to clarify the incidence and predictors of hypoattenuated leaflet thickening (assumed as leaflet thrombosis) imaging in transcatheter bioprosthesis. This study involved 70 consecutive patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement with the Edwards SAPIEN-XT device and were subjected to follow-up at 6 months and 1 year through multislice computed tomography (CT), echocardiographic data, and…
Mitral Annuloplasty with a Cardioband Device: Effective in Functional Mitral Regurgitation
Both surgical and medical treatment options for functional mitral regurgitation are limited. The Cardioband system (Valtech Cardio, OrYehuda, Israel) is a new transvenous, transseptal direct mitral annuloplasty device. This work studied the safety and efficacy of this new device 6 months after implantation. Thirty-one patients with moderate to severe mitral regurgitation associated with severe impairment of the left systolic ventricular…
TAVR vs. Surgery: Valve Performance at Five Years (PARTNER I)
The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term performance of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and surgically-implanted valves through longitudinal echocardiographic follow-up of the PARTNER I trial patients. The study included all patients receiving TAVR or undergoing surgery who had a post-implant echocardiogram at five years analyzed for peak systolic velocity, mean gradient,…
Post TAVR Cognitive Function at Short Term: Better or Worse?
There is little information on the short and mid-term evolution of cognitive function after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The aim of this study was to describe global changes in cognitive function and changes in specific cognitive domains one year after TAVR. Fifty one patients undergoing TAVR, median age 80, were prospectively followed…
Apixaban: An Alternative for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing TAVR?
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. The prevalence of atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is high (32.9%, according to the PARTNER Trial, and 46.8%, according to the CoreValve High-Risk Study), and is associated with thromboembolic events (as in all other populations). Apixaban has shown to benefit patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation,…
TAVR in Low-Flow Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis and Severe Impairment of Systolic Function
Patients with low-flow, low-gradient severe symptomatic aortic stenosis associated with severe impairment of the left ventricular systolic function have shown acceptable outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), according to the multicenter TOPAS-TAVI registry, which demonstrated a relatively low 30-day mortality rate. Considering the very high risk presented by this population involved, a 30-day…