Physicians and researchers complete thousands of clinical trials each year, but some findings prove far more significant than others. For cardiologist Dharmesh Patel, MD, the results of the SMART trial have changed the way he’s managing and recommending treatment for women with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis.

Some of the most talked about data at ACC.24 were the results of a late-breaking clinical trial comparing different transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) valves in patients with a small aortic annulus. 

Hospitals should be making every effort to help sonographers deliver better, more accurate echocardiograms and improve the diagnosis of severe aortic stenosis. If you take care of your sonographers, your sonographers will take care of you. 

“The Evolut FX system is an improvement over previous Evolut system devices and it delivers better overall results to our patients,” says interventional cardiologist Guilherme Attizzani, MD. “It is an ideal solution for a majority of our patients.”

Identifying patients with severe aortic stenosis who could potentially benefit from transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is very important—but managing and tracking them over time can be quite a challenge.

When the ACC and AHA collaborated on new valvular heart disease guidelines in 2020, the two groups highlighted the importance of interventional treatment options such as TAVR. However, an estimated one-third of patients with severe aortic stenosis in the U.S. still lack a guideline-recommended treatment plan.

Aortic stenosis (AS) is one of the most common—and growing—cardiac conditions. In particular, the prevalence of severe AS rises markedly among elderly Americans, affecting an estimated 3.4% of Americans 75 and older.[1]

Updates about transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are always big news, but the new five-year data from the CoreValve™ US Pivotal and SURTAVI trials came as a welcome surprise to many cardiologists.