Against what common sense dictates, continuing oral anticoagulation pre- and post- transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is safe, according to this article soon to be published in JACC Interventions. There was no increase in hemorrhagic or vascular complications and, paradoxically, those who continued using anticoagulant agents received fewer transfusions that those who did not. A...
Head-to-head comparison of current drug-eluting stents (DES) showed contradictory results that led us to believe, for years, that we had reached a plateau. This feeling was also fostered by the disappointment caused by Absorb and bioresorbable-polymer stents. However, this recent article featured in JACC Interventions shows a light at the end of the tunnel with...
Most cardiovascular diseases and mortality come down to 4 years of unhealthy habits (smoking, poor diet, obesity and sedentarism) and 3 major risk factors (cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes). Ideal cardiovascular health, defined as absence or control of these 7 factors, is far less frequent than we might believe. It is estimated that 87% of the...
This paper, recently published in JAHA, showed that patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus exhibiting lower-limb vascular disease benefit from combining cilostazol and clopidogrel. Treatment for at least 6 months with clopidogrel (75 mg/QD) plus cilostazol (100 mg/BID) significantly reduces ischemic events—including stroke, infarction, and death from vascular causes—compared with clopidogrel monotherapy. Adding cilostazol reduces ischemic events, but that...
As we gradually consolidate the information on the duration of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) the focus seems to be moving towards the feasibility of repeat TAVR. How long the valve will last no longer matters as much as how feasible a new procedure is. The supra-annular leaflet position and tall stent frame of the...
Periprocedural red blood cell transfusion in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) correlates with increased mortality and acute kidney injury. It also resulted an independent predictor of 30-day mortality, irrespective of bleeding and vascular complications. The global trend that limits transfusion, in all procedures in general, has finally reached TAVR. The multicenter registry TRITAVI (Transfusion Requirements...
Minimalist transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a strategy that is here to stay. We have previously published papers comparing local vs. general anesthesia, use of transthoracic vs. transesophageal echocardiography, and early discharge in TAVR. In all these papers, the “minimalist approach” included percutaneous closure of vascular access. However, few papers compare closure devices in...
Direct anticoagulant agents were associated with lower long-term mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation discharged after successful transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) compared with classic vitamin K inhibitors. Optimal anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing TAVR is unclear. We are actually just starting to know what the ideal antiplatelet therapy is for patients undergoing...
As hospitalization time after a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is reduced, we are observing a concomitant increase in re-hospitalizations due to conduction disorders. Early discharge is a great step, but it should be noted that conduction disorders can happen beyond 48 hours. A few years ago, pacemaker implantation rates after discharge were about 7%;...
Patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) can safely undergo the procedure under conscious sedation. Conscious sedation has been adopted in clinical practice as a natural way of simplifying and conducting the procedure in the least invasive way possible. Currently, up to 50% of patients undergo TAVR under conscious sedation, but...