Cardiovascular Business: TAVR Linked to Favorable Outcomes for Asymptomatic and Minimally Symptomatic Patients—But is it Necessary?

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in asymptomatic and minimally symptomatic patients is associated with a high survival rate, but relatively minor improvements, according to new research published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. The question clinicians still need to answer is whether or not these patients should be treated with TAVR in the first place.

“In the current era, the procedural risks and postprocedural recovery after TAVR are more favorable compared with those after surgical aortic valve replacement,” wrote Chetan P. Huded, MD, a cardiologist specializing in structural heart disease with Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri. “Given this more favorable profile of procedural risk, coupled with observational studies suggesting increased mortality associated with severe aortic stenosis (AS), even in asymptomatic patients, there is growing interest in earlier timing of TAVR. A key insight needed to better understand the risks and benefits of this approach is a deeper understanding of the outcomes of TAVR in asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic patients with severe AS.”

Read the full Cardiovascular Business article: TAVR Linked to Favorable Outcomes for Asymptomatic and Minimally Symptomatic Patients—But is it Necessary?