Comparison of hemodynamic performance of the balloon-expandable SAPIEN 3 versus SAPIEN XT transcatheter valve.

This is a matched case controlled study of 27 consecutive patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) with the SAPIEN 3 (SV3)device in 2 centers. These patients were matched with patients who had undergone TAVI with the 26-mm SAPIEN XT (SXTV) who were drawn from a prospective database of 270 consecutive patients.

The rate of balloon postdilation after valve implantation was higher in the SXTV group compared with the S3V group (p = 0.047). In the S3V group, only 2 patients (7%) had a paravalvular leak graded as mild or greater, compared with 42% of the patients in the SXTV group (p = 0.002). In the univariate analysis, the implantation of the S3V was the only factor associated with no/trace paravalvular leaks after TAVI.