Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Aortic stenosis happens in 2.8% of patients over 75, and is even more frequent in dialysis patients. However, it remains unclear whether kidney dysfunction increases the risk of aortic stenosis. The present study looked at 1,121,875 patients from the SCREAM project (Stockholm CREAtinine Measurements). Mean age was 50, and...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. TAVR has been shown beneficial in high and moderate risk patients, but there is a group of patients that require dialysis on account of kidney deterioration. This comorbidity is due to bad cardiovascular evolution associated to diabetes, bleeding and thromboembolic events. For some time, we have been using an...
Once a big void that prevented us from effectively assessing functional compromise, intermediate aortic stenosis has made us treat many lesions “just in case”, to save us what would be a complicated procedure, had a valve been placed. Auspiciously, some light has been shed by several, most welcome, studies simultaneously published in J Am Coll...
Symptomatic patients with <1 cm² aortic valve area will benefit from an intervention regardless parameters such as flow and gradient, even if these are normal (or at least not severe). A valve replacement will be indicated without question (either surgical or percutaneous) in patients with >40 mHg mean gradient or low gradient justified by low...
Pressure loss vs. flow curves offer a fundamental synthesis of fluids dynamics in describing aortic valve physiopathology. Severe aortic stenosis is not just an orifice (as suggested by Gorlin) or a segment that offers dynamic resistance. However, once a new transcatheter valve has been implanted, it will behave purely as a resistor. At dobutamine dose,...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was developed for aortic stenosis, but there is a significant number of patients with severe aortic regurgitation who still undergo this procedure as an off-label indication. Current evidence for this procedure in relation with this disease is growing, mainly due to good results obtained by different...
The association between aortic stenosis and some degree of mitral stenosis (MS) is around 10% (depending on the series), and it is related with negative outcomes. In high-risk and inoperable patients who underwent TAVR, that association and its significance have not been studied yet. The study analyzed data from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been proven to reduce mortality and improve the quality of life of patients with pure severe aortic stenosis (PAS). However, there is a significant number of patients who experience mixed aortic stenosis associated with moderate/severe aortic regurgitation (MAS). These subjects were excluded from the PARTNER...
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is much less invasive than surgical replacement. This is associated with a substantial reduction in bleeding events (up to 60% less). However, clinically relevant bleeding is still present in one every four patients who undergo TAVR, which is associated with morbidity and mortality. Cases of bleeding are not uniform: they may...
Courtesy of Dr. Carlos Fava. It is known that patients with low gradient aortic stenosis show poor evolution with medical treatment and, in addition, present high mortality rate with surgery. As regards TAVR, a far simpler procedure compared to surgery, there is contradicting evidence; while some studies claim it holds comparable risks, others have found...