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Catheter-Based Treatments

April 29, 2017
A succinct update relevant to all arrhythmia and heart failure surgeons. The concept of atrial cardiomyopathy is particularly stimulating.
February 13, 2017
The authors report on an echocardiographic sub-study of the NOTION trial, a prospective randomized study which compared outcomes between 120 patients undergoing TAVI and 112 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR).
December 27, 2016
The authors report on their findings an ongoing Japanese multicentre prospective registry. They evaluate outcomes in 478 patients undergoing transfemoral  TAVI and treated with percutaneous puncture using an expandable sheath, Edwards Sapien XTprosthesis and a Perclose ProGlide system.
September 27, 2016
This analysis of PARTNER data evaluated the impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on outcomes after TAVR.  Patients were grouped according to GFR as none/mild, moderate, and severe renal disease.  Severe disease was most common among women with diabetes.
July 25, 2016
The authors describe their findings in a multicenter retrospective review of clinical outcomes in 64 patients with severe mitral annular calcification considered poor candidates for traditional surgical mitral valve replacement, undergoing transcatheter mitral valve implantation with a balloon expandable prosthesis.
July 14, 2016
This article explores the controversial topic of TAVR versus surgical AVR in low-risk patients.  The primary outcome was 3-year survival.  The authors report 3-year survival for TAVR and surgical AVR as 72% and 83.4%, respective (p=0.0015).  Although TAVR is an exciting technology, there should be caution in adopting it in lower risk patients.  
June 28, 2016
This article investigates the effects of varying degrees of aortic regurgitation (AR) on survival after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).  They retrospectively evaluated a cohort of 237 patients undergoing TAVR from 2006 to 2012 with echocardiogram performed within 30 days of the procedure.  Using a Cox proportional multivariable regress
June 11, 2016
The authors summarize currently available catheter-based treatments for mitral regurgitation.  The options are numerous and are evolving rapidly. Commentary: http://www.jtcvsonline.org/article/S0022-5223%2816%2930318-X/fulltext  
June 8, 2016
In medicine we often use words not understandable to patients. For example, instead of saying, "does it hurt when you pee,” we say, “dysuria”… Roughly 80% of patients don’t understand their medical condition (Am J Emerg Med. 2000; PMID 11103725).  This cartoon animation provides a clear explanation to help patients understand aortic stenosis.
April 3, 2016
Neil Moat, one of the busiest British surgeons involved directly and consistently in TAVR, discusses PARTNER 2 and SURTAVI, paying particular attention to the health economics of low-risk TAVR and the implication of reduced profile devices.

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