Transcatheter Aortic Valve Therapies

Abstract

Since the introduction of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in 2002 by Cribier, the management of patients with severe aortic stenosis has undergone substantial transformation. TAVI has emerged as an effective treatment option in patients with severe aortic stenosis in large part due to a robust evidence base generated by a series of randomized controlled trials. It is now the preferred treatment modality in intermediate-, high-, and prohibitive surgical risk patients. Randomized trials of low surgical risk patients have completed enrollment and may significantly increase the candidacy of TAVI patients when the results become available in early 2019. Despite the significant improvement in technology, there are challenging issues that need to be optimized such as pacemaker rates, stroke, valve durability and thrombosis. This chapter provides an overview of the evidence base, current technology, guidelines and challenging issues related to TAVI.