In the early transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) experience with extreme/high risk for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) patients, global mortality in one year was as high as 25% . Since then, access to TAVI has been extended to intermediate and low-risk patients, and the annual volume of procedures has markedly increased. Post-discharge mortality rates have declined in parallel with the introduction of new devices and the adoption of broader indications. However, the one-year mortality after TAVI remains relevant, exceeding […]

The paper “Arterial Stiffness Changes in Severe Aortic Stenosis Patients Submitted to Valve Replacement Surgery” has important information on the behavior of arterial stiffness before and after aortic valve replacement. They studied 150 patients with severe aortic stenosis submitted to aortic valve replacement with bioprosthesis. They used a noninvasive method, carotid-femoral pressure wave velocity (PWV) measured through Complior Analyse, to study arterial stiffness. Other methods could have been used, such as invasive pressure catheter measurements, MRI and peripheral cuff sensors, […]