Calcium in the coronary arteries is a known cardiac risk factor. However, new data suggest it may actually tell us more about a person's overall health than researchers previously believed.
Researchers warned that “aggressive procedural modifications” should not be necessary during TAVR to mitigate the risk of prosthesis-patient mismatch. This appears to be true for patients receiving both self-expanding and balloon-expandable TAVR valves.
Black patients are already less likely to receive LVADs or transplants compared to whites, and these inaccurate readings can further widen the disparities.