This paper discusses a female patient with severe aortic stenosis, who was preoperatively assessed to be at high risk of left coronary artery occlusion, but developed complete occlusion of the right coronary artery during the procedure of transcatheter aortic valve replacement, leading to hemodynamic disorder. Surgical treatment under emergency cardiopulmonary bypass played a critical role in rescuing the patient.
The implantation of bioprosthetic heart valves have increased dramatically due to the aging population and the widespread application of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). TAVR is increasingly being used in younger, lower-risk patients with a longer life expectancy, so it is important to overcome structural valve degeneration and ensure long-term TAVR durability. Although the mid-term durability results of the TAVR valve are encouraging, its long-term durability needs to be further explored. This article will mainly introduce the influencing factors of TAVR valve durability, evaluation criteria for structural valve degeneration, clinical research results related to TAVR valve durability, and problems to be solved.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been a crucial treatment for elder patients with aortic stenosis in developed countries, which is still at its beginning in China. TAVR is a risky and complicated technic; and to promise the long-term development of it, we need to build a multiple disciplinary heart team consisted of doctors from different specialties and guided by various disciplines, also to guarantee the team operates well. In order to help Chinese doctors understand heart team well, this article describes component parts and requirement for each member of the team, in aspect of cardiologist, cardiac surgeon, echocardiologist, radiologist, anesthesiologist and nursing team; and discuss team operation mechanism through pre-procedural evaluation, procedural cooperation, peri-procedural management and post-procedural follow-up.
This case was an elderly male patient with symptomatic aortic valve calcification and severe aortic valve stenosis. Before the operation, the heart valve team had fully evaluated the patient’s suitability for transcatheter aortic valve replacement and approach. This patient had severe stenosis and plaques in the iliac artery, femoral artery, descending aorta, so the carotid artery approach transcatheter aortic valve replacement was chosen. After the operation, the patient’s symptoms improved significantly. So far, the patient was generally in good condition, without chest tightness, shortness of breath and other symptoms in daily activities. The current clinical application of the transcarotid approach is relatively small, but it is believed that with the publication of more clinical research results, the application of the transcarotid approach in transcatheter aortic valve replacement will become more and more common.
Objective To explore the clinical effects of emergency transcatheter aortic replacement (TAVR) on the treatment of patients with acute refractory heart failure or cardiogenic shock secondary to severe aortic stenosis during hospitalization. Methods The study selected 44 patients from 8 heart valve centers from January 2018 to January 2021. All patients received emergency TAVR treatment. The patients’ baseline clinical data, cardiac ultrasound indicators, and postoperative hospital stay were collected. Paired t-test and McNemar test were used to compare and analyze the preoperative and postoperative cardiac ultrasound indexes, moderate to severe aortic stenosis, and cardiac function. Results The average age of the patients was (72.0±7.9) years. Valve displacement occurred in one patient during the operation, and the surgical success rate was 97.7%. Four cases died during hospitalization, and the mortality rate was 9.1%. The median length of hospital stay was 11.5 d. The postoperative aortic valve area was significantly higher than that before surgery [(0.5±0.2) vs. (3.8±1.6) mm2, P<0.05], the mean transvalvular pressure of the aortic valve was significantly lower than that before operation [(64.0±24.9) vs. (11.3±4.6) mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa), P<0.05], the peak aortic flow velocity was significantly lower than that before operation [(4.5±0.7) vs. (1.9±0.7) m/s, P<0.05], the left ventricular end diastolic inner diameter was lower than that before operation [(59.0±7.2) vs. (56.1±7.3) mm, P<0.05], the left ventricular ejection fraction increased significantly compared with that before operation [(30.1±10.4)% vs. (40.9±11.0)%, P<0.05], and the cardiac function improved significantly compared with that before operation (P<0.05). During the operation, 2 cases (4.5%) underwent valve-in-valve implantation, 11 cases (25.0%) underwent percutaneous coronary intervention during the same period. During the postoperative hospital stay, 1 case (2.3%) developed stroke, 3 cases (6.8%) experienced severe bleeding, 5 cases (11.4%) had severe vascular complications, 2 cases (4.5%) experienced acute myocardial infarction, 30 cases (68.2%) had small or trace paravalvular regurgitation, 3 cases (6.8%) received permanent pacemaker implantation, and 5 cases (11.4%) developed acute kidney injury. Conclustion Emergency TAVR is an effective and feasible treatment plan for patients with acute refractory heart failure or cardiogenic shock secondary to severe aortic stenosis.
ObjectiveTo analyze the factors influencing the occurrence of subclinical leaflet thrombosis (SLT) after percutaneous aortic valve replacement using balloon-expandable valve (Sapien3, S3). Methods Retrospective analysis was made on 62 patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing percutaneous aortic valve replacement using S3 in our center from September 2020 to June 2022. Patients with a history of vascular atherosclerosis or with significant increase or insignificant decrease of aortic valve flow or gradient pressure during follow-up were selected for CT examination. Results A total of 26 patients were finally included, with an average age of 70.31±8.90 years, and the male proportion was higher (n=15, 57.69%). Among them, 5 patients had SLT. Compared with the non-SLT group, patients in the SLT group were older (68.52±8.80 years vs. 77.80±4.66 years, P=0.007). The age factor (≥75 years) and the diameter of the ascending aorta were associated with SLT (both P<0.05). Conclusion The incidence of SLT is higher in the elderly patients. It is speculated that SLT is related to the characteristics of short balloon dilation valves and low blood flow dynamics of valve racks.
This case was a 78-year-old woman characterized exertional dyspnea and diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis. Preoperative evaluation revealed that the patient had a very high surgical risk, so transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was proposed. But this patient was at high risk of coronary obstruction. After weighing advantages and disadvantages, the heart team decided to choose TAVR under the protection of guide wire and balloon at last. Left coronary ostia obstruction happened after self-expanding valve released during TAVR. Then, emergency “chimney” stent implantation was performed. Finally, TAVR and coronary revascularization was successfully completed. The patient’s condition was improved after TAVR and being good in follow-up. Based on this case, risk factors of coronary obstruction during TAVR and effectiveness and safety of “chimney” stent technique was discussed.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical outcomes of sutureless aortic valve replacement (SU-AVR) and transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for aortic valve disease. MethodsWe conducted a computer-based search of databases including CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase and Web of Science from the inception of the databases to March 2024. Two reviewers independently screened articles, extracted data and used the Cochrane bias risk assessment tool to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata 18 software. ResultsThe included 17 studies using propensity-matched analysis consisted of 6 630 patients, including 3 319 patients in the SU-AVR group and 3 311 patients in the TAVI group. The SU-AVR group had lower mortality than the TAVI group at 1-year ［RR=0.58, 95%CI(0.38, 0.87), P=0.009］, 2-year ［RR=0.61, 95%CI(0.43,0.85), P=0.004］ and 5-year ［RR=0.63, 95%CI(0.50,0.79), P=0.000］. The SU-AVR group had a significantly lower rate of new permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) ［RR=0.75, 95%CI(0.58, 0.98), P=0.037］, moderate-to-severe paravalvular leak (PVL) ［RR=0.20, 95%CI（0.12, 0.32）, P=0.000］, myocardial infarction(MI)［RR=0.30, 95%CI (0.11,0.80), P=0.017］, more-than-mild residual aortic regurgitation (AR)［RR=0.29, 95%CI（0.17, 0.48）, P=0.000］. In addition, the SU-AVR group had a higher postoperative mean aortic gradient [SMD=0.39, 95%CI (0.17, 0.62), P=0.000］than the TAVI group. Conclusion The early and mid-term clinical outcomes of SU-AVR were superior compared to TAVI.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is an effective treatment for aortic stenosis currently, especially in elderly, surgical high-risk, and surgical procedures-intolerant patients with severe aortic stenosis. After several generations of updates in design and function, the self-expandable valves have shown significant efficacy in treating aortic stenosis patients with bicuspid aortic valve, bioprosthetic valve failure or small annulus, and superiority in terms of valve durability, and the favorable hemodynamic outcomes could translate into clinical endpoint benefit. This literature review summarizes the advantages and recent advances of the self-expandable valves in transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
Conventional transcatheter aortic valve replacement is normally recommended with transthoracic echocardiography, and contrast agent mediated fluoroscopy under anesthesia to guide a better implantation of the transcatheter valve. However, iodine-containing contrast agent possibly damages the patient’s kidney, and even induces the acute kidney injury. We reported a 75-year-old patient diagnosed with severe aortic valve stenosis, moderate regurgitation, and chronic renal failure. We performed the aortic valve replacement under the guidance of fluoroscopy and transesophageal ultrasound without contrast agent. Seven days after surgery, the patient recovered well and discharged with alleviated aortic stenosis and fixed transcatheter aortic valve.