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.

Three systems for left ventricular pacing during TAVR, modified TAVR valve delivery wire, the Opsens Savvy wire, and the Teleflex Wattson wire.

VIDEO: Use of temporary left ventricular pacing during TAVR procedures

Philippe Genereux, MD, medical director of the structural heart disease program at Morristown Medical Center, discusses the various options used for temporary pacing of the heart during transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures.

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TAVR programs follow inconsistent DNR policies, potentially skewing data

Not all hospitals respect the written preferences of patients, possibly motivated by a desire to report better TAVR outcomes.

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Moderate aortic stenosis linked to a significant risk of death—should earlier interventions be considered?

Researchers tracked data from more than 12,000 moderate AS patients who originally participated in one of 25 different studies. While the findings seem to suggest earlier treatment could be beneficial for certain high-risk patients, additional research is still required.

cardiologist patient heart compensation starting salary 2022 interventional cardiologist

Atrial cardiomyopathy tied to a higher risk of dementia, even when patients show no signs of AFib or stroke

Researchers examined decades of data from more than 5,000 patients, sharing their findings in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

SAPT after TAVR preferred over DAPT, new meta-analysis confirms

An international team of researchers, led by specialists from Cleveland Clinic, found that DAPT was consistently linked to a greater risk of major or life-threatening bleeding events. 

Transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) is associated with “promising” short-term outcomes among patients with a history of cancer, according to new research published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Risk of death increases when TEER patients present with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

A team of Cleveland Clinic researchers tracked data from nearly 23,000 patients, sharing their findings in the American Journal of Cardiology

Pre-procedure CT imaging benefits LAA occlusion in Henry Ford study

There is not agreement among the top structural heart experts if CT is required for left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO), but a Henry Ford Hospital study shows it can improve outcomes.

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Cardiac surgeons gaining procedural volume despite TAVR making up 84% of cases

A decade ago, when TAVR was first cleared by the FDA, surgeons had concern about losing business. But unexpectedly, TAVR has helped also gain heart surgery cases.