The beginning of a new era in the field of percutaneous valvular interventions (PARTNER 3 and Evolut Low Risk trials)

In 2002, Cribier performed the first transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in an inoperable patient using a transseptal antegrade approach and a balloon-expandable aortic valve prosthesis, demonstrating the feasibility of percutaneous valve implantation. From then on, the favourable effects of TAVI vs. optimal medical treatment and similar outcomes compared to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in intermediate- to high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis have been shown by several studies.1 –3 Thanks to the results of these studies, nowadays, this technique is a part of everyday clinical practice in European countries.4,5 However, it is still reserved for patients who are considered high surgical risk patients by a multidisciplinary heart team. On the other hand, technological refinements and procedural simplification have contributed to a growing interest in the use of TAVI in lower risk patients. Thus, recently reported results of PARTNER 3 and Evolut Low Risk trials seems to be particularly important for the understanding of the role of TAVI in those patients.6,7 Both studies were presented during Joint American College of Cardiology/New England Journal of Medicine Late-Breaking Clinical Trials Session on 17 March 2019 and both compared in a randomized fashion TAVI vs. SAVR in patients who had severe aortic stenosis and were at low surgical risk.
Source: Cardiovascular Research - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research