Clinical Factors and Outcomes When Real-World Heart Teams Overruled STS Risk Scores in TAVR Cases.

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine why heart teams recommended transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) versus surgical AVR (SAVR) for patients at low predicted risk of mortality (PROM) and describe outcomes of these cases.

Background: Historically, referral to TAVR was based predominately on the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) risk model's PROM >3%. In selected cases, heart teams had latitude to overrule these scores.

Comparison of 26-mm Evolut and 23-mm Sapien 3 Valves in TAVR for Small Aortic Annulus.

Background: Patients with small aortic annuli (SAA) are prone to higher post-transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) transvalvular gradients and development of prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM). In many patients with SAA, the choice of TAVR valve commonly involves choosing between the 26-mm Medtronic Evolut 2 (ME26) or the 23-mm Edwards Sapien 3 valve (ES23). We compared echocardiographic and clinical outcomes in patients with SAA undergoing TAVR with either valve.