Structural valve deterioration after transcatheter aortic valve implantation using J-valve: A long-term follow-up

Abstract

Purpose: Our study aimed to investigate the structural valve deterioration (SVD) after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) using J-Valve. Methods: In all, 14 patients with aortic stenosis (AS) and 4 patients with pure aortic regurgitation (PAR) were available in the study. Four-year follow-up was performed in all patients, and the clinical data and echocardiographic findings were recorded and analyzed. Results: All patients survived at the 4-year follow-up. There was no evidence of morpho-logical SVD or prosthetic valve thrombosis in enrolled patients. None of the hemodynamic SVD occurred in patients with PAR. Mean gradients decreased from 61.93 ± 15.42 mm Hg (pre-TAVI) to 19.64 ± 9.16 mm Hg (discharge) in patients with AS (p <0.001); subsequently, a slight increase was observed in the mean trans-aortic gradient throughout follow-up (p = 0.967). Overall, in patients with AS, six individuals suffered moderate (3/14, 21.4%) or severe (3/14, 21.4%) hemodynamic SVD at 4-year follow-up. Conclusions: The limited number of cases provides a preliminary indication of the long-term efficacy of TAVI using J-Valve in patients with PAR. In patients with AS, although the higher rate of SVD was observed, the overall transcatheter heart valve (THV) hemo-dynamics remained stable over time after prosthetic valve implantation and the long-term durability of J-Valve was convincing.