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CHAPTER SUMMARY AND CENTRAL ILLUSTRATION
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Content Update
Three-Year Outcomes After Transcatheter or Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement in Low-Risk Patients with Aortic Stenosis: The Evolut Low Risk Trial
The Evolut Low Risk trial was a randomized trial comparing the safety and effectiveness of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) to surgery in patients with severe aortic stenosis who had low surgical risk. Read More
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Content Update
5-Year Incidence, Outcomes and Predictors of Structural Valve Deterioration of Transcatheter and Surgical Aortic Bioprostheses: Insights from the CoreValve US Pivotal and SURTAVI Trials
In a pooled analysis of the CoreValve US High-Risk and the SURTAVI Intermediate-Risk trials, the authors investigated the incidence, predictors and impact of structural valve deterioration (SVD) at 5 years of follow-up after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with a self-expandable valve (including the Medtronic CoreValve and the Evolut R devices) or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Read More
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Chapter Summary
This chapter discusses the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of calcific aortic valve stenosis (AS), a progressive fibro-calcific remodeling of the aortic valve leaflets that eventually impairs leaflet mobility and significantly obstructs blood flow. In high-income countries, AS is the third-most-frequent cardiovascular disease, with a prevalence of up to 5% in those aged >65 years. The first suspicion of AS is often raised by auscultation of a systolic murmur. Confirmation and evaluation of the disease are based on Doppler-echocardiography but may require an additional imaging modality in association with blood biomarkers. In addition to assessing the valve lesion and dysfunction, evaluating the AS-associated damage to the left ventricle and other cardiac chambers is essential to optimize risk stratification and therapeutic decision-making. Routine clinical and Doppler-echocardiography follow-up should be performed every 1–2 years to detect changes in AS severity, left ventricular systolic function, and/or the patient’s symptomatic status. No pharmacological approach has yet proven effective to slow the progression of AS. Patients with severe AS and symptoms or left ventricular systolic dysfunction should be considered for aortic valve replacement (see Fuster and Hurst’s Central Illustration). The decision to intervene and the choice of surgical versus transcatheter intervention should involve patients, referring physicians, and a multidisciplinary heart team.
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Calcific aortic valve disease is a slowly progressive disease that starts with mild fibrosis, calcification and thickening of the valve leaflets without obstruction of blood flow, ie. aortic sclerosis.1 This disease then evolves over the years to severe calcification with impaired leaflet mobility and significant obstruction to blood flow, ie. aortic stenosis (AS). Doppler-echocardiography is the method of choice for the diagnosis and follow-up of AS and multi-modality imaging provides incremental value for the risk stratification and management of the disease. The natural history of AS is characterized by a long latent period during which, the stenosis progresses in stages from mild, ...