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.

Urgent pump exchange for stroke resulting from a distorted HeartMate XVE inflow conduit.

Long-term left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation is associated with an inherent risk of transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). When TIAs occur in patients who have undergone placement of a HeartMate XVE LVAD, the pump must be assumed to be the likely source of the TIA. The HeartMate XVE is unique in that it has a pumping surface of flocked Biomer and a pump housing and inlet cannula coated with sintered titanium.

Saphenous vein graft flow during left ventricular assistance with an axial-flow pump.

The effects of continuous-flow support on bypass graft flow have not been quantified clinically. Continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices unload the left ventricle throughout the cardiac cycle, which narrows pulse pressure and converts passive left ventricular filling during diastole to active flow throughout the cardiac cycle. We report the case of a 63-year-old man with severe congestive heart failure who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting and was supported with an axial-flow pump.

Thirty-five years of mechanical circulatory support at the Texas Heart Institute: an updated overview.

Since the 1960s, the Texas Heart Institute has been intimately involved in the development of mechanical circulatory support devices (for example, ventricular assist devices, aortic counterpulsation pumps, and total artificial hearts) for both short- and long-term use. Here, we review the varied clinical experience with these technologies at the Texas Heart Institute over the last 35 years.