Transfemoral TAVR is not always a viable option. In those instances, the two most effective alternatives are transcarotid access and transcaval access, according to a new SCAI expert consensus statement.

Cardiologist Aakriti Gupta, MD, MSc, spoke to Cardiovascular Business about the latest data and trends associated with using cerebral embolic protection devices during TAVR to lower the risk of stroke.

Military veterans face an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, making it especially important to ensure they receive high-quality care.

Other procedures are associated with higher profits—heart transplants, for instance—but CABG and TAVR are performed much more often.

A trio of leading voices in cardiology reviewed years of data while considering their proposal. The choice between TAVR and SAVR, they added, should be made on a case-by-case basis.

"The onus is on us as cardiologists to make sure we offer the very best possible devices for our patients with the available data that we have," interventional cardiologist Anene Ukaigwe, MD, explained. 

Women with cardiovascular disease are consistently underdiagnosed and undertreated compared to men, and those disparities are true for aortic stenosis as well. Women with symptomatic severe AS are up to 35% less likely than men to undergo aortic valve replacement, for example, and they often have to wait longer just to be referred for further care.

The so-called "weekend effect" seen with other cardiovascular diseases appears to exist for patients with severe aortic stenosis as well.