BACKGROUNDPrevious trials have shown that among high-risk patients with aortic stenosis, survival rates are similar with transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical aorticvalve replacement. We evaluated the two procedures in a randomized trial involving intermediate-risk patients. METHODSWe randomly assigned 2032 intermediate-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis, at 57 centers, to undergo either TAVR or surgical replacement. The primary end point was death from any cause or disabling stroke at 2 years. The primary hypothesis was that TAVR would not be inferior to surgical replacement. Before randomization, patients were entered into one of two cohorts on the basis of clinical and imaging findings; 76.3% of the patients were included in the transfemoral-access cohort and 23.7% in the transthoracic-access cohort. RESULTSThe rate of death from any cause or disabling stroke was similar in the TAVR group and the surgery group (P = 0.001 for noninferiority). At 2 years, the Kaplan-Meier event rates were 19.3% in the TAVR group and 21.1% in the surgery group (hazard ratio in the TAVR group, 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.73 to 1.09; P = 0.25). In the transfemoralaccess cohort, TAVR resulted in a lower rate of death or disabling stroke than surgery (hazard ratio, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.62 to 1.00; P = 0.05), whereas in the transthoracic-access cohort, outcomes were similar in the two groups. TAVR resulted in larger aortic-valve areas than did surgery and also resulted in lower rates of acute kidney injury, severe bleeding, and new-onset atrial fibrillation; surgery resulted in fewer major vascular complications and less paravalvular aortic regurgitation. CONCLUSIONSIn intermediate-risk patients, TAVR was similar to surgical aortic-valve replacement with respect to the primary end point of death or disabling stroke. (Funded by Edwards Lifesciences; PARTNER 2 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01314313.) a bs tr ac t

ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT01314313.

Objective Examine the relationship between left ventricular mass (LVM) regression and clinical outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Background LVM regression after valve replacement for aortic stenosis (AS) is assumed to be a favorable effect of LV unloading, but its relationship to improved clinical outcomes is unclear. Methods Of 2115 patients with symptomatic AS at high surgical risk receiving TAVR in the PARTNER randomized trial or continued access registry, 690 had both severe LVH (LVM index [LVMi] ³149 g/m2 men, ³122 g/m2 women) at baseline and an LVMi measurement 30 days post-TAVR. Clinical outcomes were compared for patients with greater than vs. lesser than median percent change in LVMi between baseline and 30 days using Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate event rates from 30 to 365 days. Results Compared to patients with lesser regression, patients with greater LVMi regression had a similar rate of all-cause mortality (14.1% vs. 14.3%, p=0.99), but a lower rate of rehospitalization (9.5% vs. 18.5%, HR 0.50; 95% CI, 0.32–0.78; p=0.002) and a lower rate of rehospitalizations specifically for heart failure (7.3% vs. 13.6%, p=0.01). The association with a lower rate of hospitalizations was consistent across sub-groups and remained significant after multivariable adjustment (HR 0.53; 95% CI, 0.34–0.84; p=0.007). Patients with greater LVMi regression had lower BNP (p=0.002) and a trend toward better quality of life (p=0.06) at 1 year compared to those with lesser regression. Conclusions In high-risk patients with severe AS and severe LVH undergoing TAVR, those with greater early LV mass regression had half the rate of rehospitalization over the subsequent year.

Background:In the initial PARTNER trial (Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valves) of transcatheter aortic valve replacement for high-risk (HR) and inoperable patients, mortality at 1 year was 24% in HR and 31% in inoperable patients. A recent report of the 30-day outcomes with the lowprofile SAPIEN 3 transcatheter aortic valve replacement system demonstrated very low rates of adverse events, but little is known about the longer-term outcomes with this device. Methods:Between October 2013 and September 2014, 583 HR (65%) or inoperable (35%) patients were treated via the transfemoral (84%) or transapical/transaortic (16%) access route at 29 US sites. Major clinical events at 1 year were adjudicated by an independent clinical events committee, and echocardiographic results were analyzed by a core laboratory. results: Baseline characteristics included age of 83 years, 42% female, and median Society of Thoracic Surgeons score of 8.4%. At the 1-year follow-up, survival (all-cause) was 85.6% for all patients, 87.3% in the HR subgroup, and 82.3% in the inoperable subgroup. Survival free of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the transfemoral patients from the HR cohort was 87.7% and 93.3%, respectively. There was no severe paravalvular leak. Moderate paravalvular leak (2.7%) was associated with an increase in mortality at 1 year, whereas mild paravalvular leak had no significant association with mortality. Symptomatic improvement as assessed by the percentage of patients in New York Heart Association class III and IV (90.1% to 7.7% at 1 year; P<0.0001) and by Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire overall summary score (improved from 46.9 to 72.4; P<0.0001) was marked. Multivariable predictors of 1-year mortality included alternative access, Society of Thoracic Surgeons score, and disabling stroke. conclusions:In this large, adjudicated registry of SAPIEN 3 HR and inoperable patients, the very low rates of important complications resulted in a strikingly low mortality rate at 1 year. Between 30 and 365 days, the incidence of moderate paravalvular aortic regurgitation did not increase, and no association between mild paravalvular leak and 1-year mortality was observed, although a small increase in disabling stroke occurred. These results, which likely reflect device iteration and procedural evolution, support the use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement as the preferred therapy in HR and inoperable patients with aortic stenosis. clinical trial registration: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01314313.