Gerhard Schymik

Thirty-Day Results of the SAPIEN Aortic Bioprosthesis European Outcome (SOURCE) Registry A European Registry of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Using the Edwards SAPIEN Valve

Background— Transcatheter aortic valve implantation was developed to mitigate the mortality and morbidity associated with high-risk traditional aortic valve replacement. The Edwards SAPIEN valve was approved for transcatheter aortic valve implantation transfemoral delivery in the European Union in November 2007 and for transapical delivery in January 2008. Methods and Results— The SAPIEN Aortic Bioprosthesis European Outcome (SOURCE) Registry was designed to assess the initial clinical results of the Edwards SAPIEN valve in consecutive patients in Europe after commercialization. Cohort 1 consists of 1038 patients enrolled at 32 centers. Patients who were treated with the transapical approach (n=575) suffered more comorbidities than the transfemoral patients (n=463), resulting in a significantly higher logistic EuroSCORE (29.1% versus 25.7%; P<0.001). Therefore, these groups are considered different, and outcomes cannot be compared. Overall short-term procedural success was observed in 93.8%. The incidence of valve embolization was 0.3% (n=3), and coronary obstruction was reported for 0.6% (n=6 cases). Incidence of stroke was 2.5% and similar for both procedural approaches. Thirty-day mortality was 6.3% in transfemoral patients and 10.3% in transapical patients. The occurrence of vascular complications was not a predictor of <30-day mortality in the transfemoral population. Conclusion— Technical proficiency can be learned and adapted readily as demonstrated by the short-term procedural success rate and low 30-day mortality rates reported in the SOURCE Registry. Specific complication management and refinement of patient selection are needed to further improve outcomes.

One-Year Outcomes of Cohort 1 in the Edwards SAPIEN Aortic Bioprosthesis European Outcome (SOURCE) Registry The European Registry of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Using the Edwards SAPIEN Valve

Background— Transcatheter aortic valve implantation was developed to provide a therapeutic option for patients considered to be ineligible for, and to mitigate mortality and morbidity associated with, high-risk surgical aortic valve replacement. Methods and Results— The Edwards SAPIEN Aortic Bioprosthesis European Outcome (SOURCE) Registry was designed to assess initial post commercial clinical transcatheter aortic valve implantation results of the Edwards SAPIEN valve in consecutive patients in Europe. Cohort 1 consists of 1038 patients enrolled at 32 centers. One-year outcomes are presented. Patients with the transapical approach (n=575) suffered more comorbidities than transfemoral patients (n=463) with a significantly higher logistic EuroSCORE (29% versus 25.8%; P=0.007). These groups are different; therefore, outcomes cannot be directly compared. Total Kaplan Meier 1-year survival was 76.1% overall, 72.1% for transapical and 81.1% for transfemoral patients, and 73.5% of surviving patients were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class I or II at 1 year. Combined transapical and transfemoral causes of death were cardiac in 25.1%, noncardiac in 49.2%, and unknown in 25.7%. Pulmonary complications (23.9%), renal failure (12.5%), cancer (11.4%), and stroke (10.2%) were the most frequent noncardiac causes of death. Multivariable analysis identified logistic EuroSCORE, renal disease, liver disease, and smoking as variables with the highest hazard ratios for 1-year mortality whereas carotid artery stenosis, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension were associated with lower mortality. Conclusion— The SOURCE Registry is the largest consecutively enrolled registry for transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedures. It demonstrates that with new transcatheter aortic techniques excellent 1-year survival in high-risk and inoperable patients is achievable and provides a benchmark against which future transcatheter aortic valve implantation cohorts and devices can be measured.

One-Year Outcomes of Cohort 1 in the Edwards SAPIEN Aortic Bioprosthesis European Outcome (SOURCE) Registry

Background— Transcatheter aortic valve implantation was developed to provide a therapeutic option for patients considered to be ineligible for, and to mitigate mortality and morbidity associated with, high-risk surgical aortic valve replacement. Methods and Results— The Edwards SAPIEN Aortic Bioprosthesis European Outcome (SOURCE) Registry was designed to assess initial post commercial clinical transcatheter aortic valve implantation results of the Edwards SAPIEN valve in consecutive patients in Europe. Cohort 1 consists of 1038 patients enrolled at 32 centers. One-year outcomes are presented. Patients with the transapical approach (n=575) suffered more comorbidities than transfemoral patients (n=463) with a significantly higher logistic EuroSCORE (29% versus 25.8%; P=0.007). These groups are different; therefore, outcomes cannot be directly compared. Total Kaplan Meier 1-year survival was 76.1% overall, 72.1% for transapical and 81.1% for transfemoral patients, and 73.5% of surviving patients were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class I or II at 1 year. Combined transapical and transfemoral causes of death were cardiac in 25.1%, noncardiac in 49.2%, and unknown in 25.7%. Pulmonary complications (23.9%), renal failure (12.5%), cancer (11.4%), and stroke (10.2%) were the most frequent noncardiac causes of death. Multivariable analysis identified logistic EuroSCORE, renal disease, liver disease, and smoking as variables with the highest hazard ratios for 1-year mortality whereas carotid artery stenosis, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension were associated with lower mortality. Conclusion— The SOURCE Registry is the largest consecutively enrolled registry for transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedures. It demonstrates that with new transcatheter aortic techniques excellent 1-year survival in high-risk and inoperable patients is achievable and provides a benchmark against which future transcatheter aortic valve implantation cohorts and devices can be measured.

Cryoballoon Versus Open Irrigated Radiofrequency Ablation in Patients With Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: The Prospective, Randomized, Controlled, Noninferiority FreezeAF Study

Background— There is a lack of data on the comparative efficacy and procedural safety of open irrigated radiofrequency (RF) and cryoballoon catheter (CB) ablation for pulmonary vein isolation in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Methods and Results— In a prospective, noninferiority study, 315 patients were randomly assigned to RF (n=159) or CB (n=156) ablation. The primary end point was freedom from atrial arrhythmia with absence of persistent complications. Patients were largely comparable between groups with more vascular disease in the RF group (8.2% versus 2.6% for CB; P=0.028). The primary end point at 12 months was achieved by 70.7% with RF and 73.6% with CB (multiple procedure success), including 31 redo procedures in each group (19.5% of RF versus 19.9% of CB; P=0.933). For the intention-to-treat population, noninferiority of CB was revealed for the predefined inferiority margin (risk difference, 0.029; 95% confidence interval, −0.074 to 0.132; P<0.001). Rates at 6 months were 63.1% and 64.1% for the RF and CB groups (single procedure success), and noninferiority was confirmed (risk difference, 0.010; 95% confidence interval, −0.097 to 0.116; P=0.002). Periprocedural complications for the index procedure were more frequent in the CB group (5.0% RF, 12.2% CB; P=0.022) with a significant difference in phrenic nerve palsies (0% RF, 5.8% CB; P=0.002). Conclusion— This large, prospective, randomized, controlled study demonstrates noninferiority of CB ablation versus RF ablation for treating patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00774566.

Incidence and Severity of Paravalvular Aortic Regurgitation With Multidetector Computed Tomography Nominal Area Oversizing or Undersizing After Transcatheter Heart Valve Replacement With the Sapien 3 : A Comparison With the Sapien XT

OBJECTIVES This study sought to compare the influence of the extent of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) area oversizing on the incidence of paravalvular aortic regurgitation (PAR) between the Sapien 3 and the Sapien XT transcatheter heart valve (THV) to define a new MDCT sizing guideline suitable for the Sapien 3 platform. BACKGROUND The inverse relationship of PAR occurrence and oversizing has been demonstrated for the Sapien XT but the incidence of PAR with comparable oversizing with the Sapien 3 is not known. METHODS Sixty-one prospectively enrolled patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement with the Sapien 3 THV were compared with 92 patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement with the Sapien XT THV. Patients were categorized depending on the degree of MDCT area oversizing percentage: undersizing (below 0%), 0% to 5%, 5% to 10%, and above 10%. The primary endpoint was mild or greater PAR on transthoracic echocardiography. RESULTS Mild or greater PAR was present in 19.7% of patients (12 of 61) in the Sapien 3 group and in 54.3% of patients (50 of 92) in the Sapien XT group (p < 0.01). The Sapien 3 group, compared with the Sapien XT group, consistently demonstrated significantly lower rates of mild or greater PAR except for oversizing >10% (p for interaction = 0.54). Moderate or severe PAR rates were also lower in the Sapien 3 group than in the Sapien XT group (3.3% vs. 13.0%, p = 0.04). In the Sapien 3 group, a MDCT area oversizing percentage value of ≤4.17% was identified as the optimal cutoff value to discriminate patients with or without mild or greater PAR. CONCLUSIONS Our retrospective analysis suggests that the Sapien 3 THV displays significantly lower rates of PAR than does the Sapien XT THV. A lesser degree of MDCT area oversizing may be employed for this new balloon-expandable THV.

SOURCE 3 Registry: Design and 30-day results of the european postapproval registry of the latest generation of the sapien 3 transcatheter heart valve

Background: The SOURCE 3 Registry (SAPIEN Aortic Bioprosthesis European Outcome) is a European multicenter, observational registry of the latest generation of transcatheter heart valve, the SAPIEN 3 (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA). Its purpose is to document outcomes of clinical safety and performance after European approval was given. Methods: Here, we present the 30-day outcome of the SOURCE 3 Registry. All data are self-reported, and all participating centers have committed to support their consecutive experience with the SAPIEN 3 transcatheter heart valve, dependent on patient consent, before the start of the study. Adverse events are defined with Valve Academic Research Consortium 2 criteria and adjudicated by an independent clinical events committee. Results: A total of 1950 patients from 80 centers in 10 countries were enrolled between July 2014 and October 2015. Of those, 1947 patients underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with the SAPIEN 3 (mean age, 81.6±6.6 years; 48.1% female). Main comorbidities included coronary artery disease (51.5%), renal insufficiency (27.4%), diabetes mellitus (29.5%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (16.0%), and a mean logistic EuroSCORE of 18.3±13.2. Transfemoral access was used in 87.1% (n=1695); nontransfemoral, in 252 patients. Conscious sedation was used in 59.9% of transfemoral procedures, and in 50% of patients, TAVI was performed without aortic balloon valvuloplasty. Implantation success (1 valve in the intended location) was 98.3%. Conversion to conventional surgery (0.6%) and use of cardiopulmonary bypass (0.7%) were rare. Adverse events were low, with site-reported 30-day all-cause mortality of 2.2%, cardiovascular mortality of 1.1%, stroke of 1.4%, major vascular complications of 4.1%, life-threatening bleeding of 5%, and post-TAVI pacemaker implantation of 12%. Moderate or greater paravalvular regurgitation was observed in 3.1% of reporting patients. Conclusions: Results from the SOURCE 3 Registry demonstrate contemporary European trends and good outcomes of TAVI in daily practice when this third-generation TAVI device is used.Background: The SOURCE 3 Registry (SAPIEN Aortic Bioprosthesis European Outcome) is a European multicenter, observational registry of the latest generation of transcatheter heart valve, the SAPIEN 3 (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA). Its purpose is to document outcomes of clinical safety and performance after European approval was given. Methods: Here, we present the 30-day outcome of the SOURCE 3 Registry. All data are self-reported, and all participating centers have committed to support their consecutive experience with the SAPIEN 3 transcatheter heart valve, dependent on patient consent, before the start of the study. Adverse events are defined with Valve Academic Research Consortium 2 criteria and adjudicated by an independent clinical events committee. Results: A total of 1950 patients from 80 centers in 10 countries were enrolled between July 2014 and October 2015. Of those, 1947 patients underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with the SAPIEN 3 (mean age, 81.6±6.6 years; 48.1% female). Main comorbidities included coronary artery disease (51.5%), renal insufficiency (27.4%), diabetes mellitus (29.5%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (16.0%), and a mean logistic EuroSCORE of 18.3±13.2. Transfemoral access was used in 87.1% (n=1695); nontransfemoral, in 252 patients. Conscious sedation was used in 59.9% of transfemoral procedures, and in 50% of patients, TAVI was performed without aortic balloon valvuloplasty. Implantation success (1 valve in the intended location) was 98.3%. Conversion to conventional surgery (0.6%) and use of cardiopulmonary bypass (0.7%) were rare. Adverse events were low, with site-reported 30-day all-cause mortality of 2.2%, cardiovascular mortality of 1.1%, stroke of 1.4%, major vascular complications of 4.1%, life-threatening bleeding of 5%, and post-TAVI pacemaker implantation of 12%. Moderate or greater paravalvular regurgitation was observed in 3.1% of reporting patients. Conclusions: Results from the SOURCE 3 Registry demonstrate contemporary European trends and good outcomes of TAVI in daily practice when this third-generation TAVI device is used. # Clinical Perspective {#article-title-16}

A comparison of transcatheter aortic valve implantation and surgical aortic valve replacement in 1,141 patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis and less than high risk

To assess outcomes for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) versus surgical aortic valve replacement but with less than high risk.

Long-Term Results of Transapical Versus Transfemoral TAVI in a Real World Population of 1000 Patients With Severe Symptomatic Aortic Stenosis

Background—Transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation is generally perceived to be associated with increased morbidity compared with transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation. We aimed to compare access-related complications and survival using propensity score matching. Methods and Results—Prospective, single-center registry of 1000 consecutive patients undergoing transapical and transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation between May 2008 and April 2012. Transapical was performed in 413 patients and transfemoral in 587 patients. Patients with transapical access were less often women and less had pulmonary hypertension. Further they had more peripheral arterial disease, coronary artery disease, carotid stenosis, and recurrent surgery and a higher logistic EuroSCORE I (24.3%±16.2% for transapical versus 22.2%±16.2% for transfemoral; P<0.01). After building 2 propensity score–matched groups of 354 patients each with either access route (total 708 patients), baseline characteristics were comparable. In this analysis, there was no significant difference in 30 day mortality (5.9% transapical versus 8.5% transfemoral; P=0.19), the rate of myocardial infarction (2.5% transapical versus 2.0% transfemoral; P=0.61), stroke (2.0% transapical versus 2.3% transfemoral; P=0.79), bleeding complications, pacemaker implantation rates, or moderate aortic insufficiency. Stage 1 renal complications were more common in transapical patients (odds ratio, 2.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.93–4.09), whereas major vascular complications were less common (odds ratio, 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.06–0.29). Survival probability over the long term was not statistically different (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.72–1.10; log-rank Test, P=0.27). Conclusions—The data demonstrate that in an experienced multidisciplinary heart team, either access route can be performed with comparable results.

Aortoiliac CT Angiography for Planning Transcutaneous Aortic Valve Implantation: Aortic Root Anatomy and Frequency of Clinically Significant Incidental Findings

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to assess aortic root and iliofemoral vessel anatomy and the frequency of clinically significant incidental findings on aortoiliac CT angiography (CTA) performed for planning of transcutaneous aortic valve implantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS Aortoiliac CTA studies of 207 patients scheduled for transcutaneous aortic valve implantation were analyzed. Anatomic dimensions relevant to the interventional procedure, including diameter of the aortic annulus and sinus of Valsalva, distance between aortic annulus and coronary ostia, coronary leaflet length, left ventricular outflow tract diameter, and vessel diameter of iliac arteries, were analyzed. Clinically significant incidental findings were recorded. RESULTS The mean (± SD) maximum and minimum diameters of the aortic annulus were 29 ± 3.9 mm and 23.5 ± 4.1 mm, respectively. The mean distances between aortic annulus and the ostium of the left and right coronary artery were 13.5 ± 3.2 mm and 14.8 ± 3.9 mm, respectively. The mean maximum and minimum diameters of the left ventricular outflow tract were 27 ± 4 mm and 1.9 ± 4 mm, respectively. The mean diameter of the sinus of Valsalva was 33.4 ± 5.1 mm. The mean diameters of the right and left external iliac artery were 8 ± 1 and 8 ± 2 mm, respectively. Almost half the patients (101/207) had clinically significant incidental findings, including noncalcified pulmonary nodules larger than 8 mm (n = 7), pulmonary embolism (n = 3), or aortic aneurysm (n = 12). CONCLUSION Aortoiliac CTA provides relevant information on aortic root and iliofemoral vessel anatomy for preinterventional planning. CTA reveals clinically significant incidental findings in a high number of patients considered for transcutaneous aortic valve implantation, which may have a significant impact on patient selection.

SOURCE 3: 1-year outcomes post-transcatheter aortic valve implantation using the latest generation of the balloon-expandable transcatheter heart valve

Abstract Aims Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has developed from a procedure for patients with aortic stenosis inoperable or high risk for surgery, into a treatment option even for intermediate risk elderly patients. This development has been facilitated by the clinical learning curve and constant improvements of transcatheter heart valves used. We present total 1-year results of SOURCE 3, the European post-approval multicentre registry of the latest generation balloon expandable SAPIEN 3TM (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA). Methods and results Participating centres have submitted their consecutive experience with the SAPIEN 3, dependent on patients consent. Data were prospectively collected and all end point-related outcomes adjudicated according to VARC-2 definitions by an independent committee. Between July 2014 and October 2015, in total 1946 patients (mean age 81.6 ± 6.7 years, 52% male) were enrolled in 80 centres from 10 European countries. At 1 year, all-cause mortality was 12.6%, cardiovascular mortality 8.0%, stroke 3.1%, disabling stroke 1.4%, and rate of new pacemakers 13.2%. Causes of death were 62.0% cardiovascular and 38.0% non-cardiovascular, with heart failure (13.4%) and pulmonary complications (12.7%) being the main reasons for fatal outcomes. Multivariable analysis identified New York Heart Association Class IV and renal insufficiency as predictors of mortality, while higher BMI’s improved survival. Severe (zero) and moderate paravalvular leakage (2.6%) was rare at 1 year. Conclusion In SOURCE 3, we observe a low complication rate and mortality at 1 year. Given the low incidence of higher degree paravalvular leakages, this variable did no longer affect outcome. Clinicaltrial.gov number: NCT02698956.