TAVR Highlights: Predicting long-term outcomes | SCAI, ACC & STS share a message | Weight loss drug linked to key benefits

As TAVR continues to gain popularity, researchers remain focused on discovering new ways to predict short- and long-term outcomes. One recent study, for example, explored the potential of AI-enabled imaging assessments. Another analysis focused on the CALLY index.

When heart patients require aortic valve replacement, would they be a better fit for TAVR or SAVR? Such decisions are not made lightly, clinicians emphasized in a new joint statement.

When a TAVR valve fails and that patient undergoes redo TAVR, are there benefits to choosing one device type over the other? The team behind a new study tracked multiple outcomes and identified specific factors that may help predict survival. 

Researchers tracked real-world data from 600 TAVR patients, following each one for approximately five years. Survival rates were similar for men and women early on, but then women started experiencing better outcomes after three years.

Two separate studies explored the value of treating heart patients with tirzepatide. 

Cerebral embolic protection devices are "compelling," researchers wrote, but current data does not suggest they make a significant impact on patient outcomes.

When it came to all-cause mortality and ischemic stroke, however, the two popular DOACs were associated with comparable outcomes. 

The high-risk patients who require urgent or emergent TAVR are often excluded from major clinical trials. To learn more about this population, researchers explored data from nearly 600 patients treated at high-volume facilities.