WASHINGTON – Transcatheter aortic valve replacement with the CoreValve device showed significantly higher 1-year survival than did surgical replacement, in a randomized trial of patients with severe aortic stenosis and increased risk of death during surgery.
These results, presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology by Dr. David H. Adams of Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New York, were met with enthusiasm by Dr. Valentin Fuster, the invited discussant at the meeting. "The CoreValve study, to me, is fantastic," Dr. Fuster, also of Mt. Sinai, said in an interview. But he did also urge restraint in placing the device in those for whom it would be inappropriate, especially younger patients.