A 78-year-old female patient was admitted to West China Hospital of Sichuan University because of “amaurosis and polypnea for 4+ years”. The examination results before admission showed that severe stenosis of aortic valve, bicuspid aortic valve malformation, severe horizontal heart with 61.54° aortic angle. The preoperative evaluation of the patient indicated that the Society of Thoracic Surgeons score was 17.9%, which was high risk for surgery. After discussion by the heart team, the aortic stenosis was finally relieved by transcatheter aortic valve replacement. The operation was successfully completed by using the method of pulling and releasing the device with the same side basket. One month follow-up showed that the patient’s condition was stable and no complications occurred. This case aims to provide a reference for the treatment of horizontal heart with aortic stenosis. In the future, it is hoped that through continuous clinical practice, such patients will be provided with a safer and more efficient treatment plan.
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.
“Valve-in-valve” technique is an effective method to treat the bioprosthesis structural valve degeneration. In this paper, an 82-year-old male patient with severe aortic valve regurgitation had underwent surgical aortic valve replacement. He had a bioprosthesis structural valve degeneration which caused severe aortic stenosis more than 3 years after surgery. His symptoms of chest distress and short breath were aggravated progressively, and not relieved by conventional treatment. As the deterioration in his unstabled circulation system, an emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement was conducted for him. The operation was finally successful, the symptoms were relived significantly after operation, and then the follow-up indicated that he had a good recovery.
An 84-year-old severe aortic stenosis patient admitted with acute heart failure was reported. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) was proposed. The patient was at high risk of the left coronary artery occlusion in preoperative and intraoperative evaluation. Coronary artery protection was performed by pre-embedded coronary artery guide wire and stent during the TAVR. The left coronary artery was partially blocked by valve leaflet after 23 mm self-expanding aortic valve was released. Coronary revascularization was not performed as the coronary blood flow was not affected. However, the patient suffered acute myocardial infarction with hypotension on the third day after TAVR. Emergency angiography showed that left coronary artery was more blocked than before and the condition improved after left main coronary stent implantation. This case suggested that aggressive coronary revascularization should be considered for high risk of coronary artery obstruction during TAVR, especially for partial obstruction of coronary artery.
ObjectiveTo summarize and analyze the clinical outcomes of one-stage transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) combined with transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) in patients with concomitant severe aortic and mitral valve disease. Methods We retrospectively collected the clinical data of patients who underwent one-stage TAVR and TMVR at Beijing Anzhen Hospital between January 2019 and May 2025. Baseline characteristics, procedural details, and perioperative echocardiographic results were recorded. Survivors were followed regularly, and the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events was assessed. ResultsA total of 12 high-risk patients with concomitant severe aortic and mitral valve disease were included, comprising 7 males with a mean age of (73.3±5.4) years. Aortic valve pathology included mixed lesions (n=1), aortic regurgitation (n=8), and aortic stenosis (n=3). Among them, 7 patients had previously undergone surgical bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement. Mitral valve pathology consisted of bioprosthetic valve degeneration leading to isolated regurgitation (n=8) or mixed lesions (n=4); 11 patients had a prior surgical bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement. All patients successfully underwent one-stage TAVR combined with TMVR, with 10 procedures performed via the transapical approach, 1 via the transfemoral approach, and 1 via a combined transfemoral-transapical approach. Valve deployment was successful in all cases, with an overall device success rate of 91.7%. The median intensive care unit stay was 1.5 (IQR 1.3, 3.4) d. Early postoperative complications included 2 perioperative deaths and 2 cases of gastrointestinal bleeding, with no other major cardiovascular events observed. During follow-up, there were no deaths, permanent pacemaker implantations, and no occurrences of moderate-to-severe valve stenosis, paravalvular leak, or left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Conclusion This study demonstrates that one-stage TAVR combined with TMVR is safe and effective in selected high-risk patients with concomitant severe aortic and mitral valve disease, and represents a feasible therapeutic option.
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.
ObjectiveTo explore the preoperative evaluation result of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in aortic stenosis (AS) patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in order to summarize relevant experience.MethodsA total of 33 consecutive AS patients who underwent TAVR in Department of Cardiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from March 2016 to June 2020 were enrolled, and the preoperative evaluation characteristics of MDCT were compared between tricuspid aortic valve (TAV) and BAV.ResultsIn the 33 patients, whose mean age was (74±6) years, 22 were male and 11 were female, 17 were with BAV and 16 were with TAV. The medium (lower quartile, upper quartile) of calcification score was 360 (192, 1 034) mm3. There were 12 cases of artificial valve model to be speculated Downsize, including 9 calcific BAV cases (75%).ConclusionThe calcific BAV has a higher ratio of Downsize in the TAVR procedure.
With the expanding indications for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) guidelines, combined valvular disease is often encountered in the clinic, and existing relevant studies have shown that preoperative moderate to severe mitral regurgitation is associated with higher mortality. In these patients, the optimal treatment strategy for TAVR with evidence-based heart failure, TAVR with transcatheter mitral intervention, or staging transcatheter therapy are unclear. Therefore, a comprehensive assessment of the anatomy and function of the aortic and mitral valves, as well as an in-depth assessment of the patient’s baseline risk profile, are the basis for an individualized approach to treatment. This article will review the results of the relevant research to better help clinicians diagnose and treat relevant patients.
Cardiac conduction block is one of the most common perioperative complications of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a proportion of which will resolve spontaneously over time, but its incidence has not decreased with the iteration of instruments. It is associated with poor prognosis of patients. The prevention and management strategies of cardiac conduction block after TAVR are still being explored. This paper expounds the mechanism, influence, incidence, predictors, management of cardiac conduction block and indications, timing of permanent pacemaker implantation to provide a reference for the prevention and management of cardiac conduction block after TAVR in clinical practice.
Reports about the application of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for patients with aortic stenosis, whose valve sizes exceed the maximum recommended annular diameter of the largest artificial valve, is rarely in China. This paper reports an aortic stenosis patient characterized by large aortic annulus diameter with severe calcification and treated by TAVR. A comprehensive and careful operation plan was made before the operation. The anterior and posterior balloon dilatation and coronary artery protection were used during the operation. The patient was followed up for 2 years and was in stable condition.