Transcatheter Management of Left-Sided Valvular Heart Disease Following Heart Transplantation

With the improvement in survival rates for heart transplant recipients, cardiac valvular disease is more frequently being encountered in this group of patients. This includes conditions such as aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation in the transplanted heart. This article discusses the role of transcatheter-based therapies, including transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER), in heart transplant recipients. Fifteen patients were studied, with nine undergoing TAVI and six receiving M-TEER. The authors found these procedures to be feasible and efficient in improving echocardiographic allograft function, reporting a median survival of two years post-elective procedures. However, survival outcomes were found to be dependent on the urgency of the intervention performed.