Prosthesis choice for transcatheter aortic valve replacement: Improved outcomes with the adoption of a patient-specific transcatheter heart valve selection algorithm

In this prospective study on 377 patients, the authors evaluate the effect of the application of a patient-specific transcatheter heart valve (THV) selection algorithm, which suggests the use of a specific THV (CoreValve or SAPIEN XT) for specific anatomical subsets, on procedural outcomes. Among the 377 patients, 184 consecutive patients underwent TAVR with the THV selection algorithm (study group) and 193 consecutive patients without the algorithm (control group). The main finding of the study is that the application of the algorithm resulted in a reduction of the incidence of moderate/severe paravalvular regurgitation and the composite of aortic annular rupture, coronary occlusion and THV embolization after TAVR and provided higher device success.