Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR)
For all patients suffering from severe aortic stenosis unless determined to be at low surgical risk for traditional open heart surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), sometimes also called transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), may be a treatment option. TAVR is a less invasive procedure that does not require open heart surgery. During the TAVR procedure, a prosthetic valve is inserted within the native, diseased aortic valve. The TAVR procedure can be performed through multiple approaches (eg. transfemoral, transapical, or transaortic). This procedure was approved in Europe in 2007 and by the FDA in the U.S. in 2011.
TAVR with the Edwards SAPIEN 3 valve demonstrated 75% lower rates of 30-day all-cause mortality and disabling stroke compared to surgery in intermediate-risk patients.