Testing drug eluting paclitaxel balloon valvuloplasty in an experimental model of aortic stenosis

Abstract

Balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) was introduced in 1986 as an alternative non- surgical therapeutic option in elderly and high-risk patients with aortic stenosis [1]. It generates small to moderate increase in the effective aortic valve area (AVA) and decline in the transvalvular pressure gradient (by average 50 %) which results in early symptomatic improvements in the majority of patients [2-5]. Nonetheless, clinical data demonstrates restenosis rates of the aortic valve occurring up to 83 % observed at 6 months and is almost universal within 1 year after the procedure [3, 6, 7]. Restenosis promptly revokes the improvement in symptoms and quality of life, which is so much valued especially in the elderly population with multiple comorbidities and limited life expectancy. The initial enthusiasm about BAV led to its more liberal use in high-risk patients but registry data indicated that it does not alter the natural history of aortic stenosis [8].