Structural Heart Disease

Structural heart diseases include any issues preventing normal cardiovascular function due to damage or alteration to the anatomical components of the heart. This is caused by aging, advanced atherosclerosis, calcification, tissue degeneration, congenital heart defects and heart failure. The most commonly treated areas are the heart valves, in particular the mitral and aortic valves. These can be replaced through open heart surgery or using cath lab-based transcatheter valves or repairs to eliminate regurgitation due to faulty valve leaflets. This includes transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Other common procedures include left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion and closing congenital holes in the heart, such as PFO and ASD. A growing area includes transcatheter mitral repair or replacement and transcatheter tricuspid valve repair and replacement.

World’s most populous country gains access to Medtronic’s newest TAVR valve
Medtronic developed the self-expanding Evolut FX+ TAVR system with improved coronary access in mind. The FDA-approved device has now officially launched in India.
New registry helps hospitals expand outpatient services for heart patients
The initiation of the ACC Ambulatory Surgical Center Registry comes at a time when hospitals are expanding their structural heart programs. The registry is providing valuable details about which patients should stay at the hospital and which can be treated in an outpatient setting.
TAVR still a safe option for patients with nickel allergies
More research is still needed, as this study only included data from a small number of patients, but TAVR was not linked to any severe adverse events or allergic reactions.
Why patient selection is so important when performing M-TEER
As mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair continues to gain momentum in the United States, a new study of CMS data examines what happens to patient outcomes when the procedure fails.
Advances in electrosurgical techniques have helped thousands of transcatheter valve patients
Toby Rogers, MD, associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University and an interventional cardiologist at MedStar, explains how electrosurgical procedures for transcaval access have helped large numbers of patients receive transcatheter heart valves who otherwise would have been disqualified due to anatomical issues.

World’s most populous country gains access to Medtronic’s newest TAVR valve

Medtronic developed the self-expanding Evolut FX+ TAVR system with improved coronary access in mind. The FDA-approved device has now officially launched in India.

Joan Michaels, RN, director of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) Transcatheter Valve Therapies (TVT) and IMPACT congenital heart registries, said the addition of the ambulatory surgical center (ASC) registry comes at a time when hospitals are expanding structural heart programs and ASC's will likely play a growing role to help free up more hospital cath labs for the more complex cases.

New registry helps hospitals expand outpatient services for heart patients

The initiation of the ACC Ambulatory Surgical Center Registry comes at a time when hospitals are expanding their structural heart programs. The registry is providing valuable details about which patients should stay at the hospital and which can be treated in an outpatient setting.

The Medtronic CoreValve Evolut and the Edwards Lifesciences Sapien 3 TAVR valves.

TAVR still a safe option for patients with nickel allergies

More research is still needed, as this study only included data from a small number of patients, but TAVR was not linked to any severe adverse events or allergic reactions.

Why patient selection is so important when performing M-TEER

As mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair continues to gain momentum in the United States, a new study of CMS data examines what happens to patient outcomes when the procedure fails.

Toby Rogers, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine Georgetown University, and interventional cardiologist at MedStar Heart and Vascular Institute Structural Heart Disease program, explains how the transcatheter electrosurgical procedures for transcaval access, SESAME, LAMPOON and BASILICA has helped large numbers of patients receive transcatheter heart valves who otherwise would have been disqualified due to anatomical issues.

Advances in electrosurgical techniques have helped thousands of transcatheter valve patients

Toby Rogers, MD, associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University and an interventional cardiologist at MedStar, explains how electrosurgical procedures for transcaval access have helped large numbers of patients receive transcatheter heart valves who otherwise would have been disqualified due to anatomical issues.

No sedation required: Local anesthesia enough for most TAVR patients

New data out of ESC Congress 2025 suggest care teams can take a more minimalist approach during a majority of TAVR cases and only treat patients with local anesthesia. In some cases, however, sedation will still be necessary.

Abbott receives expanded approval for Navitor TAVR system

Abbott's TAVR valve now has CE mark approval for treating low-, intermediate- and high-risk patients who present with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis. The news comes as new data on the valve's safety and effectiveness were just published in JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.

Edwards Evoque transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement TTVR

Old age, RBBB help predict when TTVR patients may require a permanent pacemaker

Though just a small, single-facility study, these findings help care teams know what to look for when performing transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement.