Background Due to the nature of the percutaneous prosthesis deployment process, a variation in its final position is expected. Prosthetic valve placement will define the spatial location of its effective orifice in relation to the aortic annulus. The blood flow pattern in the ascending aorta is related to the aortic remodeling process, and depends on the spatial location of the effective orific...

BACKGROUND Recent recommendations suggest that in patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation and coexistent significant coronary artery disease, the latter should be treated before the index procedure; however, the evidence basis for such an approach remains limited. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the clinical outcomes of...

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether balloon dilatation of the aortic valve induces long-term macroscopic or histological changes or both to explain the restenosis process. DESIGN Prospective study of 39 consecutive patients. Sixteen later (mean (SD) 12 (10) months) required operation. This non-randomised subgroup was compared with 10 patients who had aortic valve replacement without prior dilata...

Percutaneous trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is recommended for inoperable patients with severe aortic stenosis at high risk for conventional aortic valve replacement. Originally, TAVI was mostly performed under general anesthesia. Here we describe two cases of transfemoral TAVI performed under monitored anesthesia care (MAC) with dexmedetomidine. Dexmedetomidine provides sedati...

The transfemoral and the transradial approach are the standard access routes for coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary interventions. A transapical left ventricular access is sometimes used for diagnostic purposes and has been described for structural cardiac interventions, but not for coronary artery interventions.1–4 A significant number of patients who undergo catheter-based aortic ...

  Multiple aorto-cardiac cavity communications is very rare but important complication of prosthetic aortic valve endocarditis. The case below illustrates multiple aorto-cardiac cavity fistula formation following prostethic aortic valve endocarditis presented with slowly progressive symptoms of heart failure. A brief review of surgical reconstruction and the existing literature are presented, i...

The goal of this work is to develop an atraumatic stent concept for percutaneous aortic valve replacement. Shape setted braided nitinol wires, thanks to their specific geometry and elasticity, allows stent's compressibility, self deployment and aortic root preservation. Prototypes manufacturing technique and relatives constraints are presented. Performance of the obtained prototypes are evaluat...

Percutaneous balloon dilatation of the aortic valve was attempted in 25 consecutive patients with stenosis. The aortic valve diameters were normal for age. The balloon catheters were placed retrogradely, and their diameters were within 1-2 mm of the valve diameter and 3 (13 patients) or 6 cm (recent 12 patients) long. After dilatation the pressure gradients across the aortic valve were reduced ...

BACKGROUND To assess the feasibility and safety of retrograde transarterial implantation of a novel nonmetallic aortic valve prosthesis (Direct Flow Medical Inc, Santa Rosa, Calif), a prospective single-center study was performed in patients with severe aortic stenosis at high risk for open-heart surgery. METHODS AND RESULTS Fifteen patients (intention-to-treat cohort) with an aortic valve ar...