Hoping to gain a better understanding of how TAVR may impact a patient’s long-term cardiovascular health, researchers explored data from more than 200,000 patients and shared their findings in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.

Members of Congress are now asking the FDA to investigate a parent's claim that her 14-year-old son was treated with an experimental heart valve without proper consent. The valve eventually failed and had to be replaced. The hospital has said its heart team did nothing wrong. 

This new approach to transplanting deceased after circulatory death (DCD) hearts may offer significant benefits.

Researchers also found that CABG and PCI were each associated with their own advantages and disadvantages, highlighting the importance of shared decision-making. 

“Our approach is like deploying tiny guards to protect blood vessels from going bad, so that there is no need to open the body over and over again to repair them,” one specialist explained. 

According to the agency, using these devices “may cause serious injuries or death.”

The 57-year-old father of two is still in good health decades after receiving a new heart. 

The procedure, performed on Feb. 14, was part of an early feasibility trial developed with help from the FDA.