Structural & Congenital Heart Disease

Results from the TRILUMINATE study, presented this week at EuroPCR 2019 in Paris, suggest Abbott’s minimally invasive tricuspid valve repair system is an effective solution for patients with structural heart disease, reducing the severity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) in more than 85% of test cases.

As rates of infective endocarditis among intravenous drug users skyrocket, cardiologists are finding that treating the heart condition without addressing the disease of addiction contributes to readmissions and mortality. 

Clinical trials presented at ACC.19 flipped the script on TAVR vs. SAVR. 

The global market for transcatheter treatment of the mitral and aortic valves is expected to increase from $4 billion to $8 billion in the next five years, but barriers exist. 

Cardiac abnormalities stemming from preterm birth can be corrected with a three-and-a-half-month exercise program in patients’ teens and twenties, according to a drug-free trial of Canadian adults.

The addition of 2.4% hydrogen to hypoxia patients’ traditional ventilation gases improved neurologic outcomes and reduced tissue injury in a recent study of piglets, suggesting hydrogen might be a beneficial addition to therapy for babies undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD).

CMS saw an influx of public commentary after it first published a draft of recommendations for revising the United States’ national coverage determination (NCD) for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) more than a month ago. Now that the 30-day comment period is over, the agency has a decision to make.

Boston Scientific’s LOTUS Edge Aortic Valve System was cleared by the FDA April 23 for use in high-risk surgical candidates with severe aortic stenosis.

Interventional cardiologists in Poland used 3D goggles to help them see inside a patient’s chest during percutaneous mitral balloon commissurotomy, a procedure to treat severe mitral stenosis.

Transsubclavian or transaxillary (TAx) access has become the preferred route for balloon-expandable TAVR when femoral access isn’t feasible, a new analysis found. Outcomes were generally favorable with TAx TAVR compared to other alternative access techniques, with the exception of higher stroke rates, researchers reported in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.

With CMS just months away from an updated national coverage determination for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), a new analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests the relationship between procedural volume and TAVR outcomes remains important in the United States.

When pregnant women inhale secondhand smoke—including from prospective fathers—it may be even more dangerous to their offspring than if the women smoke themselves, according to a meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.