Though the cost of surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) is decreasing, costs for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are rapidly growing, according to a new report from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
The study, published online in JAMA Surgery, was led by Peyman Benharash, cardiovascular surgeon at UCLA. His data showed that TAVR was about 8 percent pricier than surgery after multivariable adjustment, but had no major difference in mortality or neurologic complications.
Additionally, inpatient costs from the surgery topped $37,000 from 2004 to 2010, and rose to $39,739 from 2011 to 2013. By 2013, the cost of TAVR was $55,136, when the Sapien device was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In contrast, costs for SAVR procedures began decreasing in 2011 by almost 5 percent to 2013.
The researchers suggest that the cost differences could be attributed to the learning curve for TAVR programs.
Senior Writer
As a Senior Writer for TriMed Media Group, Katherine primarily focuses on producing news stories, Q&As and features for Cardiovascular Business. She reports on several facets of the cardiology industry, including emerging technology, new clinical trials and findings, and quality initiatives among providers. She is based out of TriMed's Chicago office and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago. Her work has appeared in Modern Healthcare, Crain's Chicago Business and The Detroit News. She joined TriMed in 2016.