The EARLY TAVR clinical trial made a significant impact, paving the way for the FDA to approve multiple transcatheter heart valves for the treatment of asymptomatic patients. However, one cardiologist who participated in the trial has some serious concerns with how its findings were presented to the public. 

Using a standardized approach, including the cusp overlap technique, is associated with improved patient outcomes when implanting Medtronic's self-expanding TAVR valves. Researchers tracked data from more than 600 patients treated all over the world, presenting their findings in JSCAI.

The new study, based on 14 different clinical trials, highlights why so many care teams have already adopted the cusp overlap technique when implanting self-expanding TAVR valves.

The device covers three vessels at once and can be deployed through the patient's TAVR access site. Researchers shared their first-in-human experience in JACC: Case Reports.

When TAVR patients present with moderate or greater tricuspid regurgitation, it could impact the care team's treatment strategy of choice.

Patients treated with the Sapien 3 platform from Edwards Lifesciences and the Evolut platform from Medtronic were linked to more similarities than differences after six years. This was a single-center study, researchers noted, but it does provide an in-depth look at the safety and effectiveness of TAVR.

Cerebral embolic protection devices are proven to work. However, according to one cardiologist, they are still not consistently reducing stroke rates.

Even TAVR patients not treated using transfemoral access can typically go home the very next day.