Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for aortic stenosis has been confirmed to be safe and efficient, and its status has gradually increased with the continuous updating of guidelines. But for severe pure aortic valve regurgitation, it has long been considered a relative contraindication to TAVR. However, many elderly, high-risk patients with pure aortic regurgitation have also been treated with TAVR and prognosis was improved through off-label use of transcatheter heart valves due to contraindications to surgery or intolerance. But because of the complexity and challenging anatomic features, high technical requirements, limited device success rate, high rate of complications, and lack of randomized controlled studies to confirm its safety and efficacy, TAVR treatment of pure aortic regurgitation has been evolving in a debate. In recent years, with the application of new-generation valves and an increasing number of studies, some new insights have been gained regarding TAVR for severe aortic regurgitation, and this article will review the progress of research on TAVR for severe pure aortic regurgitation.
Objective To explore the clinical effects of emergency transcatheter aortic replacement (TAVR) on the treatment of patients with acute refractory heart failure or cardiogenic shock secondary to severe aortic stenosis during hospitalization. Methods The study selected 44 patients from 8 heart valve centers from January 2018 to January 2021. All patients received emergency TAVR treatment. The patients’ baseline clinical data, cardiac ultrasound indicators, and postoperative hospital stay were collected. Paired t-test and McNemar test were used to compare and analyze the preoperative and postoperative cardiac ultrasound indexes, moderate to severe aortic stenosis, and cardiac function. Results The average age of the patients was (72.0±7.9) years. Valve displacement occurred in one patient during the operation, and the surgical success rate was 97.7%. Four cases died during hospitalization, and the mortality rate was 9.1%. The median length of hospital stay was 11.5 d. The postoperative aortic valve area was significantly higher than that before surgery [(0.5±0.2) vs. (3.8±1.6) mm2, P<0.05], the mean transvalvular pressure of the aortic valve was significantly lower than that before operation [(64.0±24.9) vs. (11.3±4.6) mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa), P<0.05], the peak aortic flow velocity was significantly lower than that before operation [(4.5±0.7) vs. (1.9±0.7) m/s, P<0.05], the left ventricular end diastolic inner diameter was lower than that before operation [(59.0±7.2) vs. (56.1±7.3) mm, P<0.05], the left ventricular ejection fraction increased significantly compared with that before operation [(30.1±10.4)% vs. (40.9±11.0)%, P<0.05], and the cardiac function improved significantly compared with that before operation (P<0.05). During the operation, 2 cases (4.5%) underwent valve-in-valve implantation, 11 cases (25.0%) underwent percutaneous coronary intervention during the same period. During the postoperative hospital stay, 1 case (2.3%) developed stroke, 3 cases (6.8%) experienced severe bleeding, 5 cases (11.4%) had severe vascular complications, 2 cases (4.5%) experienced acute myocardial infarction, 30 cases (68.2%) had small or trace paravalvular regurgitation, 3 cases (6.8%) received permanent pacemaker implantation, and 5 cases (11.4%) developed acute kidney injury. Conclustion Emergency TAVR is an effective and feasible treatment plan for patients with acute refractory heart failure or cardiogenic shock secondary to severe aortic stenosis.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for severe aortic stenosis is growing rapidly. The use of new heart valves prosthesis has improved surgical safety and efficacy. This report described a 72-year-old male patient with severe aortic stenosis combined with severe aortic regurgitation, who was evaluated at moderate-high risk of surgery and received a transapical TAVR using the Ken-Valve heart valve. The transcatheter operation time was 8 min, and the blood loss was 50 mL. The tracheal intubation was removed immediately after the surgery. Transesophageal echocardiography on the 4th postoperative day showed that the aortic valve leaflets worked well, and there was no valve orifice and paravalvular leakage. The patient was discharged on the 5th day after the surgery without complications. Transapical TAVR using Ken-Valve was an easy surgical procedure for aortic valve disease, and had short operation time.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a well-established treatment for patients with severe aortic stenosis. At present, TAVR has already shown noninferiority and even superiority to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients deemed at high or intermediate risk for SAVR. However, the long-term follow-up results of the randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy and safety between TAVR and SAVR are still lacking in those patients who are at low risk for SAVR. This paper gives an overview and reviews results of the Evolut Low Risk trial and interprets its implications for transcatheter therapy in aortic valve diseases.
This case was a 58-year-old female patient with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and severe aortic stenosis. Upon admission, she had severe heart failure and severe edema of both lower extremities unable to lie flat. After cardiac function adjustment and under general anesthesia, she underwent a one-stop operation of PDA occlusion and transcarotid transcatheter aortic valve replacement due to the severe aortic arch stenosis which brought high risk in transfemoral artery approach. Her symptoms improved significantly, and she was discharged only 6 days after operation. At the follow-up 3 months after operation, the aortic valve transvalvular pressure gradient improved significantly, the ductus arteriosus murmur disappeared, and the patient recovered well.
ObjectiveTo assess outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for pure native aortic valve regurgitation.MethodsA total of 129 patients underwent transfemoral TAVR in Fuwai Hospital from May 2019 to October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 83 males and 46 females with an average age of 72.26±8.97 years. The patients were divided into a pure native aortic valve regurgitation group (17 patients) and an aortic valve stenosis group (112 patients).ResultsThe incidence of valve in valve was higher in the pure native aortic valve regurgitation group (47.0% vs. 16.1%, P<0.01). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in conversion to surgery, intraoperative use of extracorporeal circulation, intraoperative left ventricular rupture, postoperative use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), peripheral vascular complications, disabled stroke, death, or pacemaker implantation. There was no statistical difference in the diameter of annulus (25.75±2.21 mm vs. 24.70±2.90 mm, P=0.068) or diameter of outflow tract (25.82±3.75 mm vs. 25.37±3.92 mm, P=0.514) between the pure native aortic valve regurgitation group and the aortic valve stenosis group.ConclusionTransfemoral TAVR is a feasible method for patients with pure native aortic valve regurgitation. The diameter of annulus plane, the diameter of outflow tract and the shape of outflow tract should be evaluated.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become the preferred treatment for severe aortic stenosis. The localization and anchor of many transcatheter heart valves available in the clinic today are dependent on the calcific aortic valve leaflet of patients. We reported here a successful case of transapical aortic valve implantation with Ken-Valve heart valve in an 82-year-old male patient with pure severe aortic regurgitation without native valve calcium. Postoperative follow-up (3 months after the surgery) showed that the cardiac function significantly improved. The echocardiography indicated that the Ken-Valve prosthesis worked well without perivalvular regurgitation. The short-term clinical effect was satisfactory. The Ken-Valve with three position anchors is proved to be suitable for the treatment of pure aortic regurgitation.
In 2020, due to the impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the development of transcatheter heart valve therapy has been shown to slow down, but there are still many aspects worth noting. The indication of monoclonal antibody after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) should be further clarified. Low surgical risk patients were included in TAVR relative indications. Mitraclip G4 was approved by CE. The indication of atrial septal occlusion after mitraclip should be further clarified. The technique of coaptation augmentation is expected to become a new method of mitral valve interventional repair. Tendyne transcatheter mitral valve was approved by European Union. Transcatheter tricuspid valve treatment equipments, TriClip and PASCAL obtained CE mark. TAVR technology is being popularized rapidly in China, and what’s more, balloon dilated valve Sapien 3 and new recyclable repositioning valve system-Venus plus have entered the domestic market. A number of mitral valve therapeutic instruments have appeared one after another, and China's first tricuspid valve lux has completed its FIM research. Finally, with the improvement of devices and technology in the future, interventional therapy of heart valve is expected to benefit more patients.
Aortic valve calcification (AVC) is one of the major causes of aortic stenosis (AS), and its pathogenesis is related to inflammation infiltration, lipid deposition, endothelial damage, calcification osteogenesis and angiogenesis. Previous studies have shown that AVC is associated with the severity of AS, the incidence of cardiovascular events, mortality, and surgical outcomes. The quantitative analysis of AVC using imaging methods not only has diagnostic value for AS, but also has guiding significance for the selection of surgical timing, assessment of surgical risk, and prognosis prediction. This article comprehensively elaborates on the methods and values of evaluating AVC using echocardiography, CT, and positron emission tomography.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been confirmed to be safety and efficacy for high-risk elderly aortic stenosis, and the clinical effect of TAVR for medium and low-risk aortic stenosis is not worse than that of surgery. The development of surgical techniques and instruments has made cardiologists attempt to broaden the surgical indications. Many elderly and high-risk patients with pure native aortic regurgitation have been treated “off label” with similar techniques, completing artificial valve replacement, restoring valve function and improving the prognosis. However, due to the high requirements of surgical techniques and surgical complications, there is a lack of randomized controlled studies to confirm its safety and effectiveness. Unlike aortic stenosis, native aortic regurgitation presents unique challenges for transcatheter valves. In this article, the authors review current advances in the treatment of aortic valve regurgitation with TAVR.