5 years later, TAVR still delivering strong results for intermediate-risk patients

Michael Walter | | Cardiovascular Business | TAVR
Old doctor

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) continues to deliver results comparable to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) a full five years after the procedure, according to new data presented Nov. 5 at TCT 2021.

The study included 864 intermediate-risk patients who underwent TAVR with one of two systems manufactured by Medtronic—CoreValve or Evolut—and another 796 intermediate-risk patients who underwent SAVR. All patients presented with severe aortic stenosis.

Overall, after five years, all-cause mortality for TAVR was 30% and the disabling stoke rate was 4.1%. For SAVR, meanwhile, all-cause mortality was 28.7% and the rate of disabling stoke rate was 5.8%. The TAVR group was also associated with superior mean aortic valve gradients, and valve thrombosis was low for both TAVR and SAVR.

“These longer-term outcomes are remarkably similar after TAVR and surgery in patients with severe aortic stenosis at intermediate operative risk,” Nicolas Van Mieghem, MD, PhD, a cardiologist from Erasmus University Medical Center in the Netherlands, said in a statement. “Additionally, results from this study are particularly impressive given the TAVR devices evaluated were first- and second-generation systems.”

“TAVR has revolutionized the treatment of aortic stenosis with more TAVR cases now performed than surgical aortic valve replacement for this disease,” added principal investigator Michael Reardon, MD, a professor at Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center. “With this shift in treatment, longer-term, randomized data is increasingly important as we strive to better understand the lifetime management of these patients.”

Mieghem reported relationships with multiple industry vendors, including Medtronic.

More information on TCT 2021 is available here.

Michael Walter
Michael Walter, Managing Editor

Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.

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