Hemodynamic comparison of CoreValve and SAPIEN-XT TAVI valves in Japanese patients

Late Outcomes After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation with Balloon-Versus Self-Expandable Valves: Meta-Analysis of Reconstructed Time-To-Event Data

Self-expanding valves (SEV) and balloon-expandable valves (BEV) for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) have their own features. There is a growing interest in long-term outcomes with the adoption of lifetime management in younger patients. To evaluate late outcomes in TAVI with SEV versus BEV, we performed a study-level meta-analysis of reconstructed time-to-event data published by May 31, 2023. We found no statistically significant difference in all-cause death after TAVI with SEV versus BEV. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to validate our results.

Safety and effectiveness of self-expanding TAVR in Japanese dialysis patients with severe aortic stenosis: 1-year outcomes

BACKGROUND

In Japan, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with self-expanding valves (SEV) was approved for patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and on chronic maintenance dialysis in May 2023. This study assessed the safety and efficacy of TAVR with SEVs in this patient population.

METHODS

This prospective, non-randomized, single-center study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of TAVR using a supra-annular SEV in Japanese patients with severe AS on chronic maintenance dialysis. The primary endpoint of all-cause mortality or disabling stroke and several secondary endpoints were assessed at 12 months.

RESULTS

Ten patients underwent TAVR using the Evolut platform (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) between June 2020 and August 2022. Mean patient age was 80.0 ± 5.5 years and 70 % were male. Mean Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality score was 7.4 ± 2.2 %. At 1 year, the primary endpoint occurred in two patients (20 %), and there were no strokes, aortic valve reinterventions, or new permanent pacemaker implantations. Valve hemodynamics improved postprocedure and were maintained in all patients reaching 12-month follow-up (mean effective orifice area 2.1 ± 0.4 cm2, mean gradient 6.8 ± 1.6 mmHg), and no patients had moderate or severe aortic regurgitation.

CONCLUSIONS

Japanese dialysis patients with severe AS who underwent TAVR using SEVs experienced favorable clinical and hemodynamic outcomes at 1-year follow-up. Further investigations are needed to assess long-term outcomes in this patient population.

Late Outcomes After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation with Balloon-Versus Self-Expandable Valves: Meta-Analysis of Reconstructed Time-To-Event Data

Self-expanding valves (SEV) and balloon-expandable valves (BEV) for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) have their own features. There is a growing interest in long-term outcomes with the adoption of lifetime management in younger patients. To evaluate late outcomes in TAVI with SEV versus BEV, we performed a study-level meta-analysis of reconstructed time-to-event data published by May 31, 2023. We found no statistically significant difference in all-cause death after TAVI with SEV versus BEV. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to validate our results.

Aortic valve morphology and paravalvular leak regression after a self-expandable transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Aims: The study aimed to compare paravalvular leak (PVL) changes after a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with self-expandable prosthesis between different aortic valve morphologies and evaluate the impact of paravalvular leak regression on clinical prognosis. Methods: Patients with aortic stenosis (AS) successfully treated with a self-expandable TAVR who were followed up for at least 1 year at our centre were consecutively enrolled from January 2016 to August 2019. Paired serial changes in paravalvular leak and other haemodynamic parameters by echocardiography were collected and compared between the bicuspid valve (BAV) and tricuspid aortic valve (TAV). A logistic regression model was used to explore the predictors of paravalvular leak regression (<1 grade) 1 year after transcatheter aortic valve replacement, while its impact on subsequent clinical outcomes (all-cause mortality and rehospitalisation for heart failure (HF)) was further evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results: A total of 153 bicuspid valve and 114 tricuspid aortic valve patients were finally enrolled; haemodynamic parameters and paravalvular leak severity were comparable before the discharge between the two groups. The peak transaortic velocity, mean transvalvular gradient, and effective orifice area all significantly improved (p < 0.05) without intergroup differences at all follow-up timepoints. Significant paravalvular leak reduction was observed only in the TAV group (1.75% vs. 4.39%, p = 0.029), while moderate paravalular leak was still more prevalent in BAV (7.19% vs. 1.75%, p = 0.041) at the 1-year follow-up. Multivariable analyses identified the bicuspid valve, asymmetric calcification, and undersizing as independent predictors of failure of the 1-year paravalvular leak reduction in patients with mild or moderate paravalvular leak after discharge. Patients without a paravalvular leak reduction within 1 year showed a relatively higher 2-year all-cause mortality and HF (HR: 5.994, 95% CI: 1.691-21.240, and p = 0.053) rates thereafter. Conclusion: In AS patients after self-expandable transcatheter aortic valve replacement, paravalvular leak regression within 1 year was less prevalent in bicuspid valve morphology. The failure of paravalvular leak reduction might lead to an increased risk of poorer prognosis in the long run.

Comparison of Balloon-Expandable Valve and Self-Expandable Valve in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Patient-Specific Numerical Study

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive strategy for the treatment of aortic stenosis. The complex post-operative complications of TAVR were related to the type of implanted prosthetic valve, and the deep mechanism of this relationship may guide the clinical pre-operative planning. The purpose of this study was to develop a numerical method of TAVR to compare the outcome difference between balloon-expandable valve and self-expandable valve and predict the post-operative results. A complete patient-specific aortic model was reconstructed. Two prosthetic valves (balloon-expandable valve and self-expandable valve) were introduced to simulate the implantation procedure, and post-procedural function was studied with fluid-structure interaction method, respectively. Results showed similar stress distribution for two valves, but higher peak stress for balloon-expandable valve model. Compared with the self-expandable valve, the balloon-expandable valve was associated with a better circular cross-section and smaller paravalvular gaps area. Hemodynamic parameters like cardiac output, mean transvalvular pressure difference and effective orifice area (EOA) of the balloon-expandable valve model were better than those of the self-expandable valve model. Significant outcome difference was found for two prosthetic valves. Balloon-expandable valve may effectively decrease the risk and degree of post-operative paravalvular leak, while self-expandable valve was conducive to lower stroke risk due to lower aortic stress. The numerical TAVR simulation process may become an assistant tool for prosthesis selection in pre-operative planning and post-operative prediction.

Evaluation of structural valve deterioration and bioprosthetic valve failure utilizing the new European consensus definition in patients undergoing TAVI with first-generation devices: Outcomes beyond 5 years from a single center in Turkey

OBJECTIVE

The long-term durability of transcatheter aortic bioprosthetic valves continues to be a major concern. Standardized criteria of the structural valve deterioration (SVD) and bioprosthetic valve failure (BVF) have recently been defined. Limited studies have evaluated the long-term durability of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) according to these new definitions. We aim to analyze the durability of TAVI beyond 5 years and to report the frequency of SVD and BVF.

METHODS

A total of 89 patients who had undergone TAVI and had theoretically completed at least 5 years after the procedure were included. Either a Medtronic CoreValve or an Edwards SAPIEN XT valve were implanted in the patients. New standardized definitions were used to evaluate SVD and BVF.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients was 78.70±6.95 years. SVD occured in 4 (4.5%) patients during 6 years of follow-up. Severe SVD was observed in 2 patients (2.2%), and these patients had the New York Heart Association class II symptoms. Both patients with severe SVD also met the criteria of BVF. Moderate SVD was observed in 2 patients (2.2%), and these patients had no valve-related symptoms. Of the 4 SVD cases, 2 were associated with increased mean transaortic gradients, whereas the remaining 2 cases were associated with intraprosthetic aortic regurgitation. All patients with SVD are still alive, and none of them have required aortic valve reintervention.

CONCLUSION

Although first-generation TAVI devices were used, we determined the low rate of SVD and BVF at the 6-year follow-up. It may be suggested that there is no major concern associated with TAVI even with first-generation devices regarding long-term durability.

The effect of multiple-inflation balloon aortic valvuloplasty

Recent improvements of balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) devices and procedures have provided improved outcomes, but it is not clear whether the multiple-inflation BAV technique is effective in patients with symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis (AS). We conducted an analysis of the impact of multiple-inflation BAV (at least 6 times inflation) on the mean aortic valve area (AVA) and mean aortic valve pressure gradient (AV-PG) in patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis as compared with conventional BAV (from single to three times inflation). We identified two studies of multiple-inflation BAV with antegrade approach using Inoue-balloon catheter (425 patients) and four studies of conventional BAV (170 patients) with retrograde approach. Using a random intercept model, we found that multiple-inflation BAV significantly increased mean AVA (mean difference (MD) [95% indicates confidence interval (CI)] = 0.25 [0.16-0.34], P < 0.001) and significantly decreased mean AV-PG (MD [95% CI] =  - 20.2 [- 27.8, - 12.70], P < 0.001) as compared with the conventional BAV. Furthermore, despite an extremely high Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) score (9.2-14.5), the all-cause mortality rate at one year of multiple-inflation BAV was 16-17%. The results of our analyses indicate that the multiple-inflation BAV technique seem to be effective for patients with symptomatic severe AS as compared with conventional BAV.

Impact of Bioprosthetic Choice on Mortality After Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Patients With Reduced Versus Preserved Left-Ventricular Ejection Fraction

The outcome of transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TF-TAVI) with a self-expanding (SEP) versus a balloon-expandable prosthesis (BEP) in patients with a reduced ejection fraction (rEF, ≤40%) has not been previously investigated. Patients with rEF have an increased risk of death after TF-TAVI compared to patients with a preserved ejection fraction (pEF), and prosthesis choice might influence the outcome of these patients. We, therefore, sought to compare all-cause mortality of patients with rEF using a SEP versus a BEP. We retrospectively analyzed data of 679 single-center TF-TAVI patients. Patients were censored at death or completion of 1-year follow-up, whichever occurred first. Patients with rEF (n = 141, 21%) had an increased 1-year mortality compared to patients with pEF (28% vs 19%, p = 0.007). SEP were implanted in 149 patients (49 with rEF, 33%), while BEP were implanted in 530 patients (92 with rEF, 17%). In patients with pEF, 1-year mortality was similar after SEP- and BEP-implantation (16% vs 19%, p = 0.516). In patients with rEF, however, 1-year mortality was higher after SEP- than after BEP-implantation (43% vs 21%, p = 0.004). These patients had a higher incidence of new permanent pacemaker implantation (26.5% vs 13%, p = 0.046) and paravalvular leak ≥II° (21% vs 10%, p = 0.07), but both factors could not explain the excess mortality after SEP-implantation in the multivariate analysis. In patients with rEF, the use of a SEP was an independent predictor of 1-year mortality (HR 2.44, 95% CI 1.27 to 4.27, p = 0.007). In conclusion, patients with rEF had a higher 1-year mortality after TF-TAVI when a SEP instead of a BEP was used.