First generation TAVR procedures performed on patients with bicuspid aortic valve stenosis have rendered suboptimal outcomes. In addition, studies on new generation devices, such as the SAPIEN 3, have systematically excluded these patients from their protocols. Therefore, we are missing information about TAVR on bicuspid aortic valve stenosis patients. This study compared SAPIEN 3 TAVR<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/05/30/europcr-2018-sapien-3-in-bicuspids/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Although surgical risk scores do not include liver failure (LF), patients who suffer from it and undergo cardiovascular surgery present high rates of morbidity and mortality. This is due to alteration of cardiac function, increased infection susceptibility, gastrointestinal complications, and increased bleeding. As regards transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), these patients have not been included<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/05/03/liver-failure-as-a-challenge-for-tavr/" title="Read more" >...</a>
The frequency of bicuspid aortic valves (BcAV) are around 1%, but in 60+ patients it is associated to severe aortic stenosis. Even though surgery is the standard treatment, TAVR is the “off label” indication in high risk patients. BcAV presents differences with tricuspids given that it is more elliptic, has asymmetric calcification and more<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/05/02/bicuspid-valves-do-not-increase-mortality-in-tavr/" title="Read more" >...</a>
All interventional cardiologists must be able to perform a pericardiocentesis. Whether we deal with a chronic total occlusion, a supposedly simple coronary angioplasty (we all have witnessed the perforation of a supposedly risk-free coronary artery), or a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (whose rise gave us another significant source of tamponades), we must all be ready<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/04/25/constrictive-pericarditis-after-pericardiocentesis/" title="Read more" >...</a>
For this Canada-based study, the increased number of patients who required a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) may have come hand in hand with an equal increase in healthcare financing, so as to cover procedural costs. In spite of that, the wait-time between the formal request for authorization and the actual procedure was 3 months, and<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/04/21/morbidity-and-mortality-during-authorization-wait-times-for-tavr/" title="Read more" >...</a>
The presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with aortic stenosis is high, reaching 50% to70% of cases. This poses a great challenge as to what strategy to use and the things we can do. Even though it has been shown complete revascularization is beneficial, it is often difficult to achieve. Instead, reasonable incomplete<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/04/18/do-the-best-coronary-revascularization-prior-tavr/" title="Read more" >...</a>
At 5 years, there were no differences in all-cause death, stroke, acute myocardial infarction, or all of these combined between low-risk, elderly patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) or conventional surgery. Taking into account reports from previous years, these results are not at all surprising. NOTION enrolled an all-comers population that was 70 years old<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/04/04/notion-5-year-outcomes-of-tavr-vs-surgery-in-low-risk-patients-are-promising/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Life-threatening complications that require surgery during TAVR are infrequent. The proportion was originally thought to be between 1% and 2%. However, we now know that it is lower, even though we do not know how frequent it is or what are its most common causes. Its evolution, both in the short and in the long<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/02/28/is-emergency-cardiac-surgery-necessary-in-tavr/" title="Read more" >...</a>
The Transcatheter mitral valve replacement has been established as gold standard for patients with intermediate or high risk severe aortic stenosis. The supporting evidence was initially gathered with one or two safe and effective devices that worked really well, so that later on prosthetic valves multiplied, for competing companies wanted their share of the market. However,<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/02/12/transcatheter-mitral-valve-replacement-devices-multiply/" title="Read more" >...</a>
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Peripheral vascular diseases (PVD) present the same risk factors as aortic stenosis. In consequence, these disorders usually coexist. The frequency and impact of their various stages on patients undergoing TAVR is yet to be thoroughly assessed. Read also: “Peripheral Vascular Disease Is Associated to More Events in TAVR”. This study analyzed<a href="https://solaci.org/en/2018/01/15/critical-lower-limb-ischemia-should-be-taken-into-account-in-tavr/" title="Read more" >...</a>