Structural & Congenital Heart Disease

People who currently take or have recently taken fluoroquinolones face higher odds of aortic and mitral regurgitation, according to a report out of Canada.

The problem is fixable, but it will take hard work, says one Duke University researcher. And cardiologists could be the key. 

The transcarotid approach to TAVR is becoming more common, according to research presented at TVT.19.

With minimally invasive structural procedures crowding out their surgical counterparts, how are physicians and hospitals preparing for the new reality? 

The U.S. now will allow  TAVR  for patients at low risk for death or major complications during open-heart surgery.

As TAVR finds a new comfort zone in younger, healthier patients, determining who shouldn’t receive the replacement valve is becoming a nuanced and challenging exercise.

Early anticoagulation after bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement didn’t result in adverse clinical events or significantly affect aortic valve hemodynamics in a recent analysis of 4,832 heart patients, but it was linked to lower stroke rates in cases of SAVR.

The FDA has expanded its indication for TAVR to low-risk patients, the agency announced August 16, approving a handful of valves for an intervention that was previously limited to intermediate- and high-risk patients.

Mental illnesses including developmental and mood disorders are prevalent in adolescents and adults with CHD, an American Journal of Cardiology study found, suggesting mental health care might be a beneficial factor in comprehensive treatment.

Surgery doesn’t improve survival in patients with isolated severe tricuspid regurgitation, researchers have found.

Newly diagnosed HF patients with concomitant mitral regurgitation can expect more admissions, longer hospital stays and pricier medical bills than HF patients without MR, according to an analysis published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

White patients are recommended for three of the most common structural heart disease interventions more often than their black and Hispanic counterparts, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, but procedural outcomes are similar among the groups.