TAVR

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a key structural heart procedure that has rapidly expanded in the decade since it was first FDA cleared. TAVR has come a paradigm shift in how many aortic stenosis patients are treated, now making up more than 50% of U.S. aortic valve replacements. It is less invasive than open heart surgery and recovery times are greatly reduced. TAVR can also be used in patients who otherwise are too high risk to undergo surgery. TAVR is referred to as transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in many placed outside of the U.S. TAVR inspired the growing areas of transcatheter mitral repair or replacement and transcatheter tricuspid valve repair and replacement.

ICE guidance reduces risk of permanent pacemaker implantation after TAVR with a self-expandable valve
Heart teams can limit the risk of conduction disturbances that lead to permanent pacemaker implantation by utilizing both the cusp-overlap method and intracardiac echocardiography.
New expert guidelines: Start PHV evaluations with echocardiography, but other imaging modalities can provide value
New guidelines from the American Society of Echocardiography, made in collaboration with the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance and Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, represent an update of the group's original recommendations from 2009.
Q&A: Cardiologists explore the potential impact of a screening program for aortic stenosis
We already screen patients for breast cancer and lung cancer on a regular basis. Why not establish screening programs for aortic stenosis?
Radiation exposure in the cath lab: Tracking the impact on interventional echocardiographers
Researchers found that echocardiographers in the cath lab are exposed to high doses of radiation on the right half of their body, especially the waist and lower body.
New ASE guideline outlines training standards for interventional echocardiography
The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) released a new guideline document that outlines uniform training standards for interventional sonographers guiding structural heart procedures.

ICE guidance reduces risk of permanent pacemaker implantation after TAVR with a self-expandable valve

Heart teams can limit the risk of conduction disturbances that lead to permanent pacemaker implantation by utilizing both the cusp-overlap method and intracardiac echocardiography.

January 17, 2024

New expert guidelines: Start PHV evaluations with echocardiography, but other imaging modalities can provide value

New guidelines from the American Society of Echocardiography, made in collaboration with the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance and Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, represent an update of the group's original recommendations from 2009.

January 9, 2024

Arzhang Fallahi, MD, and David Hsi, MD, discussing imaging-based aortic stenosis screening

Q&A: Cardiologists explore the potential impact of a screening program for aortic stenosis

We already screen patients for breast cancer and lung cancer on a regular basis. Why not establish screening programs for aortic stenosis?

September 11, 2023

X-ray photon trajectory during the simulation phantom study from the side and top views. Due to scattering of the X-rays when they hit the lower end of the patient bed, exposure in mainly to the lower body of the interventional echocardiographer performing transesophageal echocardiography. The green lines are the scattered photon trajectories calculated by Monte Carlo simulation in the study.

Radiation exposure in the cath lab: Tracking the impact on interventional echocardiographers

Researchers found that echocardiographers in the cath lab are exposed to high doses of radiation on the right half of their body, especially the waist and lower body.

April 28, 2023

Example of interventional echocardiography TEE imaging superimposed on live fluoro during a transseptal puncture for a MitraClip procedure.

New ASE guideline outlines training standards for interventional echocardiography

The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) released a new guideline document that outlines uniform training standards for interventional sonographers guiding structural heart procedures.

April 26, 2023

Brian Lindman, MD, MSCI, medical director of the Structural Heart and Valve Center and an associate professor of medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, explains the new American Heart Association (AHA) Target Aortic Stenosis (AS) program. It was announced at the AHA 2022 meeting and is designed to help screen with echo to find more AS patients.

VIDEO: AHA says aortic stenosis is undertreated and underdiagnosed

Brian Lindman, MD, medical director of the Structural Heart and Valve Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, explains the new American Heart Association (AHA) Target Aortic Stenosis (AS) program to screen with echo to find more AS patients.

November 14, 2022

Examples of structural heart transcatheter valve replacement procedure planning CT scans and post procedure followup for TMVR and TAVR.

VIDEO: CT imaging for TAVR and TMVR structural heart interventions

Joao Cavalcante, MD, director, cardiac MRI and structural CT labs, Minneapolis Heart Institute, discusses the use of cardiac CT imaging to plan and guide structural heart procedures.

September 15, 2022

$Performing CT-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) before transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) improves the accuracy of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) and helps limit unneeded invasive coronary angiography (ICA), according to a new study published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions. Heartflow$

CT-FFR before TAVR improves detection of coronary artery disease, limits invasive imaging exams

CT-FFR, which recently got a boost from the 2021 AHA/ACC chest pain guidelines, could play a key role for clinicians hoping to screen TAVR patients for coronary heart disease.

May 11, 2022

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