Symptomatic aortic valve stenosis (AS) and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) are critical clinical conditions, increasingly more prevalent with aging of the population. Calcific aortic stenosis is the ...most common structural cardiac disease in the elderly population, and medical management of severe aortic stenosis of the elderly population is associated with poor outcomes as compared to surgical treatment. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a treatment of choice in inoperable, often elderly, patients with symptomatic severe AS and in intermediate-to-high surgical risk patients. It is not yet clarified the incidence of AAA and its impact on procedural and clinical outcomes among patients undergoing TAVR. It is known that after AS resolution with aortic valve replacement or TAVR there is an increase in blood pressure that increases the risk of dissection or abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture if AAA repair is delayed. The purpose of this report is to describe the anatomical details and technical and procedural considerations when proposing totally endovascular strategies dedicated to the treatment of patients with AS and AAA.
Symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS) in patients with intermediate-to-high surgical risk is currently being treated with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). We present a case of a TAVR ...in a severe calcific AS with porcelain aorta and ‘gothic’ aortic arch. Pre-operative thoraco-abdominal computed tomography angiography showed also severe calcification at the sinotubular junction with protruding huge calcified nodules extending in ascending aorta and multiple calcific stenosis of both iliac-femoral vessels, severely tortuous. The choice of the interventional access was not easy and the high risk of an acute intra-procedural brain event guided the procedural planning. To our knowledge, this is the first case of TAVR with complete cerebral protection with Triguard system device and ‘snaring-assisted’ valve advancement.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a treatment of choice in patients with symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) and intermediate-to-high surgical risk. The presence of a small ...aortic annulus (SAA) has been associated with a higher incidence of prosthesis–patient mismatch (PPM) when surgical aortic valve replacement (sAVR) is performed. TAVR might be a treatment option offering better hemodynamics with a lower incidence of PPM. When a severe AS with a SAA is treated, TAVR-related risk as the coronary obstruction and the annulus rupture, must be also prevented. We present a case of a TAVR in a very small aortic annulus; to our knowledge, this is the smallest native aortic annulus treated percutaneously in a tricuspid stenotic aortic valve with a Self-Expanding Transcatheter Heart Valve (THV) Acurate Neo 2.
Background Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) requires large-bore access, which is associated with bleeding and vascular complications. ProGlide and Prostar XL are vascular closure devices ...widely used in clinical practice, but their comparative efficacy and safety in TAVR is a subject of debate, owing to conflicting results among published studies. We aimed to compare outcomes with Proglide versus Prostar XL vascular closure devices after TAVR. Methods and Results This large-scale analysis was conducted using RISPEVA, a multicenter national prospective database of patients undergoing transfemoral TAVR treated with ProGlide versus Prostar XL vascular closure devices. Both multivariate and propensity score adjustments were performed. A total of 2583 patients were selected. Among them, 1361 received ProGlide and 1222 Prostar XL. The predefined primary end point was a composite of cardiovascular mortality, bleeding, and vascular complications assessed at 30 days and 1-year follow-up. At 30 days, there was a significantly greater reduction of the primary end point with ProGlide versus Prostar XL (13.8% versus 20.5%, respectively; multivariate adjusted odds ratio, 0.80 95% CI, 0.65-0.99;
=0.043), driven by a reduction of bleeding complications (9.1% versus 11.7%, respectively; multivariate adjusted odds ratio, 0.76 95% CI, 0.58-0.98;
=0.046). Propensity score analysis confirmed the significant reduction of major adverse cardiovascular events and bleeding risk with ProGlide. No significant differences in the primary end point were found between the 2 vascular closure devices at 1 year of follow-up (multivariate adjusted hazard ratio, 0.88 95% CI, 0.72-1.10;
=0.902). Comparable results were obtained by propensity score analysis. During the procedure, compared with Prostar XL, ProGlide yielded significant higher device success (99.2% versus 97.5%, respectively;
=0.001). Conclusions ProGlide has superior efficacy as compared with Prostar XL in TAVR procedures and is associated with a greater reduction of composite adverse events at short-term, driven by lower bleeding complications. Registration Information URL: clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02713932.
Functional mitral regurgitation (MR) is frequently detected in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and advanced heart failure, worsening quality of life and predicting poor survival. However, the ...optimal treatment of patients with advanced heart failure and severe MR has been controversial. We present the case of a 55-year-old man with previous aortic valve replacement, severe MR with high-grade pulmonary hypertension, and refractory heart failure (HF). He was listed for cardiac transplant and underwent percutaneous MitraClip implantation as bridge therapy. The postoperative course was uneventful, with significant improvement in New York Heart Association functional class. The patient underwent a successful heart transplant 8 months after the procedure.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is an effective treatment option for patients with severe, symptomatic AS, regardless of the transcatheter heart valve (THV) implanted. Prior studies ...demonstrated a higher device success with lower paravalvular leak (PVL) using the balloon-expandable (BE) Sapien/XT THV vs. a self-expanding (SE) THV. However, few data are available on the performance of a novel BE THV.
to compare early clinical performance and safety of the newly available BE Myval THV (Myval, Meril Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., India) vs. the commonly used SE (Evolut R, Medtronic) THV.
A single-center, retrospective cohort analysis was performed with 166 consecutive patients undergoing TAVR from March 2019 to March 2021 for severe symptomatic AS treated with either the novel BE Myval or the SE Evolut R (ER) bioprosthesis. The primary endpoint was device success at day 30 according to the Valve Academic Research Consortium-3 (VARC-3). Secondary endpoints included 30-day all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, more than mild PVL, permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) rates and a composite of all-cause mortality and disabling stroke at 6 months.
Among the 166 included patients, 108 patients received the SE ER THV and 58 patients were treated with the BE Myval THV. At baseline, the two groups showed comparable demographic characteristics. The primary composite endpoint of early device success occurred in 55 patients (94.8%) in the BE Myval group and in 90 patients (83.3%) in the SE ER group (OR 3.667, 95% CI 1.094-12.14;
= 0.048). At day 30, the BE Myval THV group exhibited a significantly lower incidence of more than mild PVL (BE Myval 3.45% vs. SE ER 14.8%, OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.05-0.8;
= 0.0338), along with a lower rate of PPI (BE Myval 11% vs. SE ER 24.2%, OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.15-0.99;
= 0.0535). At the 6-month follow-up, the incidence of all-cause mortality and disabling stroke did not significantly differ between the two groups, while the incidence of PPI (BE Myval 11% vs. SE ER 27.5%, OR 0.32, CI 95% 0.1273-0.8;
= 0.02) and ≥moderate PVL (BE Myval 6.9% vs. SE ER 19.8%, OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.1-0.94;
= 0.0396) was significantly lower in the BE Myval group.
In patients with severe symptomatic AS undergoing TAVR, the novel Myval BE THV provided a comparable performance to the well-known ER SE THV, and it was associated with a lower rate of PPI and ≥moderate PVL within 30 days and 6 months after the procedure. Randomized, head-to-head comparison trials are needed to confirm our results.
Background
Despite the well-known prognostic impact of systolic dysfunction in unselected patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), limited data are available on its current ...predictive role after PCI for unprotected left main disease (ULM). We thus appraised the prognostic role of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients undergoing PCI for ULM with drug-eluting stents (DES).
Methods
Consecutive eligible subjects were retrospectively enrolled in a national registry. Patients were divided into three groups: LVEF < 30%, LVEF 30–45%, and LVEF > 45%. Relevant baseline and outcome data were compared with bivariate and multivariable tests.
Results
A total of 975 subjects was included (LVEF < 30%: 46, LVEF 30–45%: 208, LVEF > 45%: 721). Patients with LVEF < 30% had several other unfavorable clinical features, including older age and higher EuroSCORE. Adverse event rates were different already at 7 days (
p
= 0.012 for all-cause death and
p
= 0.015 for major adverse cardiac events MACE), with even more significant trends up to 30 days and at long-term (
p
< 0.001 for death, and
p
< 0.001 for MACE). After a median of 18 months, risk of death totaled 39 versus 13 versus 8% (
p
< 0.001) and risk of MACE 44 versus 24 versus 22% (
p
= 0.003). Multivariable analyses showed however that reduced LVEF was not an independent predictor of adverse events at any time-point.
Conclusions
Whereas reduced LVEF is apparently a significant predictor of adverse events after PCI with DES for ULM, its prognostic impact is mostly due to clustering with other adverse features.
In this study we investigated the impact of acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) on clinical outcomes in patients with unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) stenosis treated with drug-eluting ...stents (DESs). In this multicenter, retrospective, observational study we enrolled 1,101 patients with ULMCA stenosis treated with DESs. Six hundred eleven patients presented with ACS and 490 had stable coronary artery disease. ACS was defined as the presence of unstable angina or non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (MI). During 2-year follow-up, the adjusted hazard ratio of cardiac mortality and MI of patients with ACS versus stable patients was 2.42 (95% confidence interval 1.37 to 4.28, p = 0.002). We observed a stepwise risk increase, namely patients with stable coronary disease had the lowest risk, patients with unstable angina an intermediate risk, and patients with non–ST-segment elevation MI the highest risk. The increased risk of cardiac mortality and MI of patients with ACS was concentrated in the first year after DES implantation. In conclusion, patients with ULMCA stenosis and ACS treated with DESs have an increased risk of cardiac mortality and MI during the first year after the intervention compared to stable patients.