Transcatheter aortic valve replacement: where will we be in 5 years?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has developed in less than 2 decades to be a viable procedure, carving out a niche position in our armamentarium to treat high-risk patients with aortic valve disease. Rapid advances are occurring in prosthesis design, catheter delivery system, imaging, and the hybrid operating room.

RECENT FINDINGS

The PARTNER (Placement of AoRTic traNscathetER valve) randomized trial, cohort B confirms the superiority of the transfemoral TAVI compared with standard medical therapy with regard to overall survival and cardiac functional status. Major stroke and vascular complications, however, remain higher in the transfemoral TAVI group. Large European registries of both the transapical and transfemoral TAVI are reporting improved procedural success and early survival. The CoreValve and SAPIEN valves remain the forerunners, with accumulating evidence for use, and published 3-year prosthesis durability data for the latter.

SUMMARY

Evidence is accumulating in support of TAVI for high-risk nonoperative aortic stenosis. Even before the PARTNER cohort A results, comparing TAVI and conventional aortic valve replacement, become available, the next generation devices and technological improvements are well underway to make the procedure even more reproducible.