Objective To evaluate clinical outcomes of mild-to-moderate or moderate functional mitral regurgitation（FMR）after aortic valve replacement （AVR） in patients with severe aortic stenosis （AS），and analyze prognostic factors of these patients with mild-to-moderate or moderate FMR （2＋to 3＋）. Methods From September 2008 to December 2011，a total of 156 patients with severe AS （peak aortic gradient （PAG）≥50 mm Hg） as well as FMR （2＋to 3＋） underwent surgical treatment in Zhongshan Hospital. There were 95 male and 61 female patients with their average age of 59.2±10.5 years. Detailed perioperative clinical data were collected，and postoperative patients were followed up. The ratio of FMRpreoperative/FMR postoperative was calculated. Patient age，gender，body weight，history of hypertension，ventricular arrhythmia，atrial fibrillation （AF），left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF），left ventricular end-diastolic diameter （LVEDD），left atrial diameter （LAD），pulmonary artery hypertension （PAH），PAG were assessed by logistic multivariate regression analysis. Results Six patients died postoperatively，including 4 patients with low cardiac output syndrome and 2 patients with refractory ventricular arrhythmia. Perioperative mortality was 3.8%. The average follow-up time was 20.3±8.5 months and follow-up rate was 85.3% （133/156）. Eight patients died during follow-up，including 3 patients with heart failure，2 patients with ventricular arrhythmia，and 3 patients with anticoagulation-related cerebrovascular accident. Multivariate regression analysis showed that FMR preoperative/FMR postoperative ratio was not correlated with age≥55 years，male gender，body weight≥80 kg，LVEDD≥55 mm，LVEF≤50%，history of hypertension or ventricular arrhythmia. However，LAD≥50 mm，PAH≥50 mm Hg，PAG≤75 mm Hg and preoperative AF were negatively correlated with postoperative FMR improvement. Conclusions Risk factors including LAD≥50 mm，PAH≥50 mm Hg，PAG≤75 mm Hg and preoperative AF are negatively correlated with postoperative improvement of FMR （2＋to 3＋）. Patients with severe AS and above risk factors should receive concomitant surgical treatment for their FMR during AVR，since preoperative FMR（2＋to 3＋）usually does not improve or even aggravate after AVR.
In developed nations, aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common valvular heart disease presentation, and its prevalence is increasing due to aging populations. Accurate diagnosis of the disease process and determination of its severity are essential in clinical decision-making. Although current guidelines recommend measuring transvalvular gradients, maximal velocity, and aortic valve area in determining the disease severity, inconsistent grading of disease severity remains a common problem in clinical practice. Recent studies suggest that patients with paradoxical low-flow and/or low-gradient, severe AS are at a more advanced stage of the disease process and have a poorer prognosis. This mode of presentation may lead to an underevaluation of symptoms and inappropriate delay of AVR. Therefore, this challenging clinical situation should be carefully assessed in particular in symptomatic patients and clinical decisions should be tailored individually.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive approach to treat symptomatic severe aortic stenosis with surgical taboos or high risk. With the update of the guidelines, the indication of TAVR has been extended to the intermediate-risk aortic stenosis population, and even has a tendency to further expand to the low-risk population. This review highlights the research progress and new evidence of TAVR in respects of patient selection, valve and approach selection, ethnic differences, and surgical complications such as perivalvular leakage, cardiac conduction block, vascular complications, stroke, acute kidney injury, and coronary artery occlusion.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a common theraputic option for aortic stenosis, but the evidence for precise anatomy for TAVR is accumulating. This paper presents the case of an 71-year-old female patient who had an extremely high risk of coronary obstruction due to both coronary ostia lying too low. The patient underwent TAVR with the help of coronary protection successfully. During the procedure, the patient was protected with wires only for both coronaries. After deployment, angiofluoroscopy suggested that chimney stenting should be applied for left coronary. The whole procedure was unenventful and both coronaries were seen.
It has been 20 years since the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was performed internationally in 2002, and the development of TAVR technology in China has also been more than 10 years. The reliability of TAVR has been clinically proven, and it has also brought good benefits to patients with aortic stenosis. With the gradual progress of technology, TAVR has a trend to surpass surgical aortic valve replacement and become the mainstream surgery for patients with aortic stenosis. This article will review the relevant issues in the development of TAVR technology in recent years, based on existing research, and provide certain clinical references for the future development of TAVR technology.
Objective To explore the safety and feasibility of general anesthesia with tracheal intubation in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), and the key points in anesthetic management. Methods Twenty-five patients with aortic stenosis treated by TAVI in West China Hospital of Sichuan University between September 2012 and June 2013 were included in this study. General anesthesia with tracheal intubation was chosen. We recorded and analyzed the hemodynamics, blood gas, oxygen saturation data before and after anesthesia induction, before surgery, during rapid ventricular pacing, before and after aortic valve implantation. Besides, the incidence of perioperative complications and 30-day mortality were also recorded. Results All the 25 patients underwent the implantation surgery successfully. Two patients had the second implantation surgery due to moderate reflux. All the subjects in this study tolerated general anesthesia well without any anesthesia-related complications. There were 19 cases of newly developed or aggravated heart blocks, 7 of permanent pace maker, 2 of perioperative hemorrhage, 2 of cerebral vascular events, and 1 death case. Conclusioins General anesthesia with tracheal intubation can be utilized safely in patients undergoing TAVI. TAVI is a challenging technique in need of precise collaborations of multi-disciplines, in which anesthetists should play more as a leader in evaluation and decision-making during the surgery.
ObjectivesTo investigate simple assess method of the degree of low transvalvular gradient aortic stenosis patients with impaired left ventricular function and to investigate aortic valve replacement indications, short and mid-term outcome of this kind of patients. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 21 low-gradient patients with impaired left ventricular function in our hospital from January 2011 through May 2014. There were 15 males and 6 females aged 41-66 (54.6± 10.7) years with mean aortic transvalvular gradient less than 40 mm Hg and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 50%. ResultsIn response to dobutamine echocardiography stress test, 20 patients underwent aortic valve replacement. The result of intraoperative pathology showed 11 patients were with bicuspid aortic valve malformation, 4 patients with degenerative changes, 4 patients with rheumatic disease. During the same period, 3 patients underwent atrial fibrillation ablation, 1 patient with ascending aorta replacement, 2 patients with coronary artery bypass grafting, 1 patient with mitral valvuloplasty. One patient died of multiple organ failure on the fourth day after operation. The remaining patients recovered. The patients were followed up for 3 to 37 months after operation. Heart function of majority improved to gradeⅠorⅡin 3 months after surgery. The result of echocardiogram showed prosthetic valve function was good and LVEF increased (preoperative 35.7%± 8.2% vs. postoperative 49.4%± 7.2%). One patient suffered sudden death of unknown cause in the 11th months after operation. ConclusionsFor patients whose dobutamine echocardiography stress test displayed with true severe aortic stenosis and left ventricular contractile reserve capacity, after aortic valve replacement and relief of the obstruction, the left ventricular afterload decreases significantly, the left ventricular function also improves, LVEF and the quality of life improve significantly after operation.
ObjectiveTo analyze the characteristics and cardiac anatomy of patients with conduction block after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with Venus-A valve.MethodsRetrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent TAVR with Venus-A valve in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Military Medical University from October 2017 to May 2020. According to the occurrence of heart conduction block after TAVR, the patients were divided into the blocked group and the unblocked group, and the differences in characteristics and cardiac anatomy between the two groups were compared.ResultsForty-nine patients with severe aortic stenosis were included in the analysis, including 29 in the blocked group and 20 in the unblocked group. The incidence of atrial fibrillation in the blocked group was higher than that in the unblocked group (P=0.015), and there was no statistically significant difference in other preoperative indicators (P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative indicators between the blocked group and the unblocked group (P>0.05). Among bicuspid aortic valve, the ellipticity of left ventricular outflow tract and annulus in the blocked group were higher than those in the unblocked group (P<0.05), and the ratio of the short diameter of the left ventricular outflow tract to the bottom diameter of the implanted valve was smaller than that of the unblocked group (t=2.225, P=0.043). There was no significant difference in other cardiac anatomical indicators (P>0.05). As to tricuspid aortic valve cases, there was no significant difference in cardiac anatomic parameters between the blocked group and the unblocked group (P>0.05).ConclusionsFor bicuspid aortic valve patients with severe aortic stenosis and implanted with Venus-A valve, larger elliptic rate of annulus or left ventricular outflow tract, smaller proportion of left ventricular outflow tract diameter to the bottom diameter of implanted valve are associated with conduction block after TAVR. These anatomical patterns might be used as potential clinical indicators to predict postoperative conduction block.
Aortic stenosis accounts for a large proportion of valvular heart disease in China. This article described an unusual case of severe aortic stenosis with severe cardiopulmonary decompensation treated by emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Preoperative assessment was performed by transesophageal echocardiography. The extracorporeal membrane oxygenation team was informed to be ready. During the operation, no obvious perivalve leakage was observed after valve released. The transvalvular pressure gradient decreased to 7 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa).The patient’s symptoms were completely relieved after the operation, and no adverse events occurred during the hospitalization. After discharge, color Doppler echocardiography showed that stenosis was eliminated, cardiac function was improved, no significant perivalvular leakage was observed, and pulmonary hypertension reduced to moderate. The success of this operation confirmed the efficacy of emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and showed that after a rigorous evaluation, emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement may be a reasonable choice for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a well-established treatment for patients with severe aortic stenosis. At present, TAVR has already shown noninferiority and even superiority to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients deemed at high or intermediate risk for SAVR. However, the long-term follow-up results of the randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy and safety between TAVR and SAVR are still lacking in those patients who are at low risk for SAVR. This paper gives an overview and reviews results of the Evolut Low Risk trial and interprets its implications for transcatheter therapy in aortic valve diseases.