Structural Heart Disease

Structural heart diseases include any issues preventing normal cardiovascular function due to damage or alteration to the anatomical components of the heart. This is caused by aging, advanced atherosclerosis, calcification, tissue degeneration, congenital heart defects and heart failure. The most commonly treated areas are the heart valves, in particular the mitral and aortic valves. These can be replaced through open heart surgery or using cath lab-based transcatheter valves or repairs to eliminate regurgitation due to faulty valve leaflets. This includes transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Other common procedures include left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion and closing congenital holes in the heart, such as PFO and ASD. A growing area includes transcatheter mitral repair or replacement and transcatheter tricuspid valve repair and replacement.

Early clinical evaluation of the Alleviant System to create no-implant interatrial shunts to treat heart failure patients with preserved and reduced ejection fraction (HFpEF and HFrEF) demonstrated procedural safety and feasibility with a promising efficacy signal through six months.

Key interventional cardiology takeaways from the SCAI 2022 conference

The key interventional cardiology takeaways from sessions presented at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) 2022 annual meeting.

June 7, 2022
Same-day discharge after TAVR is safe for low-risk patients, leads to considerable cost savings

Same-day discharge after TAVR is safe for low-risk patients, leads to considerable cost savings

Researchers aimed to shine light on this key topic, tracking data from nearly 200,000 patients. 

June 2, 2022
Examples of mitral annulus calcification (MAC) visualized using echocardiography. Image from the journal Echocardiography.

Mitral annulus calcification more than doubles a patient’s risk of heart valve disease

"For clinicians, suspicion for valve diseases should be increased and evaluations carefully performed for patients with MAC," according to one Mayo Clinic cardiologist.

June 1, 2022

Transcatheter PVL closure linked to lower 30-day mortality than surgery

Long-term mortality, meanwhile, is similar between the two treatment options.

May 27, 2022

Left bundle branch block after TAVR hurts outcomes, even when no permanent pacemaker is required

Researchers tracked data from more than 2,000 TAVR patients, focusing on cardiovascular mortality and hospitalizations for heart failure. 

May 23, 2022
SCAI 2022 interventional cardiology TAVR CTO PCI TPV cath labs

TPV valves, CTO PCI and more: SCAI 2022 updates for interventional cardiologists

The first two days of SCAI 2022 were jam-packed with innovative technologies and late-breaking research.

May 20, 2022
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) patients continue to benefit from an optimized pre- and post-procedural treatment strategy that utilizes the cusp overlap technique and the Evolut Pro and Pro+ TAVR valves, according to new findings presented at EuroPCR 2022 in Paris.

Cusp overlap technique, optimized treatment strategy tied to significant improvements for TAVR patients

The research, presented at EuroPCR 2022 in Paris, represented an updated look at the Optimize PRO study, an ongoing analysis of patients treated with Medtronic’s self-expanding Evolut Pro and Pro+ TAVR systems.

May 20, 2022
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New guidelines detail PFO management, including when to consider closure

The new guidance document was designed to provide helpful information on a topic "surrounded by controversy." 

May 20, 2022

Around the web

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."

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