Abstract session on Hot Topics in Transcatheter Therapies
Presentation from Dr Justin Robinson on use of TAVI in patients with very large aortic annuli - Results from the Michigan TAVI Quality Collaborative
#EACTS2021
Methods here: just over 200 patients with aortic annuli in excess of the normal ranges for both the Edwards Sapien and Medtronic Corevalve systems
Limitation of this study is reliance on the TVT database - what I was not clear about is why these patients could not have surgery. Anyway, one assumes there was an MDT discussion in each case and surgery was not deemed feasible?
I think that was a point the panel were keen to make, that a single retrospective study could not be used to suggest that TAVI in very large annuli is 'ready for prime time', but that these important results do give some confidence if a patient cannot undergo surgery
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It takes time to read the paper, read the supplementary appendix, analyse the results, think about them etc!
Some thoughts...🧵
On Sunday I wrote a thread about asymptomatic severe AS and what we knew already from RECOVERY & AVATAR RCTs and what the guidelines currently advocate
Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), when performed with care and diligence, can reveal a lot about the valve. TOE isn't necessary in all cases to determine leaflet pathology.
A worked example below:
In the PLAX view, you can assess the scallops of the leaflets
In a true PLAX view with aortic valve clearly visible, you mostly see the A2-P2 interface. Here, you can see a clear & large prolapse of the posterior leaflet
If you tilt upwards towards the PLAX RV outflow (pulmonary valve) view you see mostly the A1-P1 interface
Here, you can see the valve looks slightly different & no prolapse is seen
PE has garnered a reputation for huge profits as they typically buy into a company, aggressively ⬇️ costs whilst ⬆️ profit margins, leverage debt if needed, and then sell, often at a large profit
Does this matter when it comes to delivering healthcare services?
Sixty years ago this month - October 1963 - US cardiologist Dr Robert Bruce published a paper detailing his efforts to devise a multi-stage treadmill test
Little did he know this would go on to become the Bruce protocol the most widely used for exercise testing
A thread...
Prior to this, 'stress testing' to evaluate cardiac function was performed using the Masters 2-step technique, first described in 1935. This crude but simple test involved repeated steps up & down over 90 seconds
Bruce, amongst others, recognized the limitations of this test & set about developing an exercise treadmill test
His initial work focused upon a single stage protocol, but he soon realized this wasn't stressing fitter patients enough & the test was taking too long!