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.

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Atrial septostomy, earlier arterial switch operations linked to improved survival

A new study published in Circulation emphasized the importance of prompt arterial switch operations (ASOs) for infants with transposition of the great arteries, as neonates more than 6 days old were 90 percent more likely to die in the perioperative period.

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AHA.18: What needs to change to improve CHD outcomes in kids

Under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, a blueprint for global well-being penned in 2015, officials aim to end all preventable deaths in newborns and children under 5 by 2030. And to Jackie Boucher, MS, BS, president of Children’s HealthLink in Minneapolis, that means better understanding congenital heart disease (CHD).

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Mini pacemakers could cut time, costs for pediatric heart procedures

A miniature pacemaker developed for use in infants and those with limited vascular access has passed a proof-of-concept simulation and is entering its second phase of testing, researchers from Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., have reported.

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Fewer antibiotic prescriptions, more IE cases followed guideline update

Antibiotic prescriptions to prevent infective endocarditis (IE) decreased following a 2007 guideline update from the American Heart Association—even among high-risk patients for whom antibiotics were still recommended. Those patients showed an estimated 177 percent increase in IE incidence over the next several years, according to a new study.

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Consensus document aims to bring ‘coherence’ to PFO treatment

Eight European scientific societies joined forces to produce what they say is the first interdisciplinary position paper to help clinicians manage patients with patent foramen ovales (PFOs).

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SAVR volumes alone not predictive of TAVR outcomes—but combined experience is

Hospitals offering transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) tend to produce the best survival outcomes when both TAVR and surgical AVR (SAVR) caseloads remain high, according to a study published Oct. 31 in JAMA Cardiology.

Dialysis raises short-term death risk in kidney patients undergoing TAVI

Kidney dialysis is an independent predictor of mortality in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), according to a seven-year trial of 2,000 men and women in Karlsruhe, Germany.

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AHA, CHF funnel $776K into congenital heart defect research

The American Heart Association and Children’s Heart Foundation are dedicating $776,000 to four upcoming research projects focused on congenital heart defects (CHDs), the AHA announced in late October.

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