Structural Heart Disease

Structural heart diseases include any issues preventing normal cardiovascular function due to damage or alteration to the anatomical components of the heart. This is caused by aging, advanced atherosclerosis, calcification, tissue degeneration, congenital heart defects and heart failure. The most commonly treated areas are the heart valves, in particular the mitral and aortic valves. These can be replaced through open heart surgery or using cath lab-based transcatheter valves or repairs to eliminate regurgitation due to faulty valve leaflets. This includes transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Other common procedures include left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion and closing congenital holes in the heart, such as PFO and ASD. A growing area includes transcatheter mitral repair or replacement and transcatheter tricuspid valve repair and replacement.

S. Chris Malaisrie, MD, professor of surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and attending cardiac surgeon at the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern Medicine, explains the late-breaking TAVR for failing bioprosthetic surgical valves five year outcomes from the PARTNER 3 Aortic Valve-in-Valve Registry at CRT 2025.

TAVR for failing surgical valves: Lessons learned from new 5-year data

S. Chris Malaisrie, MD, professor of surgery at Northwestern University, explained what these data can tell us about the lifetime management of patients who require aortic valve replacement.

baby parent parental leave family infant

Newborns with congenital heart defects face elevated cancer risk

Mothers of these children also appear to be at an increased risk of cancer, though researchers do not quite understand why.

Surgeons Operating On Patient

Mitral valve repair vs. replacement: Surgeons track long-term outcomes in patients with infective endocarditis

Mitral valve repair was linked to a significant improvement in long-term survival when treating infective endocarditis. Some patients are not good candidates for a repair procedure, however, making replacement the best possible option.

Howard Herrmann, MD, University of Pennsylvania, explains details of the SMART Trial 2-year results at CRT 2025, where Evolut performed better hemodynamically than the Sapien 3 TAVR valve in small annuli patients. The study included 87% women.

SMART 2-year TAVR hemodynamic data: Medtronic Evolut is better compared to Edwards Sapien in small annulus patients

Sponsored by Medtronic

Howard Herrmann, MD,  MSCAI, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and lead invesigator for the SMART trial, explains details on the 2-year data comparing the Evolut vs. Sapien 3 for TAVR in small annulus patients.

Thumbnail

Woman says husband’s heart condition was misdiagnosed in wrongful death lawsuit

“Clear signs of an aortic dissection” were missed in the patient's imaging findings after he presented to the emergency room, according to the lawsuit. He was diagnosed with acute pericarditis at the time and sent home—and then died four days later.

Amplatzer Amulet Left Atrial Appendage Occluder (LAAO) from Abbott

Abbott’s Amulet LAAO device linked to long-term safety, effectiveness

Researchers explored five-year data from more than 1,800 patients with nonvalvular AFib who underwent LAAO with Abbott's Amulet or Boston Scientific's Watchman 2.5. 

A TAVR procedure being performed at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. These structural heart procedures require a team approach.

TAVR or TAVI? Cardiologists want a single acronym for the popular heart procedure

Clinicians are asking the world's medical societies to come together and agree on one acronym for TAVR/TAVI to avoid unnecessary confusion going forward.

doctor Egypt Africa stethoscope

TAVR in Africa linked to high success rate, but above-average risks

TAVR adoption in Africa has been relatively slow, but cardiologists throughout the continent have made considerable progress. New data does show that there is some work to be done before outcomes will rival what is seen in many other parts of the world.

Around the web

GE HealthCare said the price of iodine contrast increased by more than 200% between 2017 to 2023. Will new Chinese tariffs drive costs even higher?

Several key trends were evident at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 meeting, including new CT and MR technology and evolving adoption of artificial intelligence.