Search

Duration of Secondary Prophylaxis for Rheumatic Fever Type Duration After Last Attack* Rheumatic fever with carditis and residual heart disease (persistent VHD†) 10 y or until patient is 40 y of age (whichever is longer) Rheumatic fever with carditis but no residual heart disease (no valvular disease†) 10 y or until patient is 21 y of age (whichever is longer) Rheumatic fever without carditis 5 y or until patient is 21 y of age (whichever is longer) *Lifelong prophylaxis may be recommended if the patient is at high risk of group A streptococcus exposure. Systemic Fibrinolysis Versus Surgery for Prosthetic Valve Thrombosis Favor Surgery Favor Fibrinolysis Readily available surgical expertise No surgical expertise available Low surgical risk High surgical risk Contraindication to fibrinolysis No contraindication to fibrinolysis Recurrent valve thrombosis First-time episode of valve thrombosis NYHA class IV NYHA class I, II, or III Large clot (>0.8 cm 2) Small clot (<=0.8 cm 2) LA thrombus No LA thrombus Concomitant CAD in need of revascularization No or mild CAD Other valve disease No other valve disease Possible pannus Thrombus visualized Patient choice Patient choice CAD indicates coronary artery disease; The threshold for valve operation for valve regurgitation is higher in the asymptomatic patient who might ever become pregnant than in patients who will not become pregnant because there always is the possibility that valve repair will not be successful and a prosthetic valve will be needed. Consultation with or referral to a Primary or Comprehensive Heart Valve Center is reasonable when treatment options are being discussed for 1) asymptomatic patients with severe VHD, 2) patients who may benefit from valve repair versus valve replacement, or 3) patients with multiple comorbidities for whom valve intervention is considered. [Extracted from the article]

Aim: This executive summary of the valvular heart disease guideline provides recommendations for clinicians to diagnose and manage valvular heart disease as well as supporting documentation to encourage their use.Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted from January 1, 2010, to March 1, 2020, encompassing studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted on human subjects that were published in English from PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Reports, and other selected database relevant to this guideline. Structure: Many recommendations from the earlier valvular heart disease guidelines have been updated with new evidence and provides newer options for diagnosis and treatment of valvular heart disease. This summary includes only the recommendations from the full guideline which focus on diagnostic work-up, the timing and choice of surgical and catheter interventions, and recommendations for medical therapy. The reader is referred to the full guideline for graphical flow charts, text, and tables with additional details about the rationale for and implementation of each recommendation, and the evidence tables detailing the data considered in developing these guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background—After aortic valve replacement, left ventricular afterload is often characterized by the residual valve obstruction. Our objective was to determine whether higher systemic arterial afterload—as reflected in blood pressure, pulsatile and resistive load—is associated with adverse clinical outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Methods and Results—Total, pulsatile, and resistive arterial load were measured in 2141 patients with severe aortic stenosis treated with TAVR in the PARTNER I trial (Placement of Aortic Transcatheter Valve) who had systolic blood pressure (SBP) and an echocardiogram obtained 30 days after TAVR. The primary end point was 30-day to 1-year all-cause mortality. Lower SBP at 30 days after TAVR was associated with higher mortality (20.0% for SBP 100–129 mm Hg versus 12.0% for SBP 130–170 mm Hg; P<0.001). This association remained significant after adjustment, was consistent across subgroups, and confirmed in sensitivity analyses. In adjusted models that included SBP, higher total and pulsatile arterial load were associated with increased mortality (P<0.001 for all), but resistive load was not. Patients with low 30-day SBP and high pulsatile load had a 3-fold higher mortality than those with high 30-day SBP and low pulsatile load (26.1% versus 8.1%; hazard ratio, 3.62; 95% confidence interval, 2.36–5.55). Conclusions—Even after relief of valve obstruction in patients with aortic stenosis, there is an independent association between post-TAVR blood pressure, systemic arterial load, and mortality. Blood pressure goals in patients with a history of aortic stenosis may need to be redefined. Increased pulsatile arterial load, rather than blood pressure, may be a target for adjunctive medical therapy to improve outcomes after TAVR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an update of the "2014 AHA/ACC Guideline for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease" report of the American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. It discusses basic principles of medical therapy for infective endocarditis, aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation, among other valvular heart diseases. It also explains the term "guideline-directed management and therapy."

The article discusses a study which hypothesized that cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging of regurgitant volume (RVol) is more reproducible than transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). Patients with chronic aortic regurgitation (AR) or mitral regurgitation (MR) underwent TTE and CMR. The results indicate that CMR may be superior for serial measurements due to its lower intraobserver and interobserver variabilities for RVol.

The author discusses the need to treat hypertension in patients with aortic stenosis. In patients with aortic stenosis (AS), heightened systemic vascular load, resulting from heightened vascular stiffness, resistance, pressure, or a combination of these factors, adds to the load on the left ventricle (LV) from the stenoic valve and is linked with heightened hypertrophic remodeling, impaired LV function, and worse clinical outcomes.

The author evaluates the imaging techniques used in clinical trials of medical therapies to prevent development of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). Experiment and clinical approaches to heart valve imaging include microoptical coherence tomography (υOCT), echocardiography, computed tomography and cardiac magnetic resonance. The use of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in detecting aortic valve inflammation and calcification is also described.

Background: Nonrheumatic valvular diseases are common; however, no studies have estimated their global or national burden. As part of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017, mortality, prevalence, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD), degenerative mitral valve disease, and other nonrheumatic valvular diseases were estimated for 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017., Methods: Vital registration data, epidemiologic survey data, and administrative hospital data were used to estimate disease burden using the Global Burden of Disease Study modeling framework, which ensures comparability across locations. Geospatial statistical methods were used to estimate disease for all countries, because data on nonrheumatic valvular diseases are extremely limited for some regions of the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Results accounted for estimated level of disease severity as well as the estimated availability of valve repair or replacement procedures. DALYs and other measures of health-related burden were generated for both sexes and each 5-year age group, location, and year from 1990 to 2017., Results: Globally, CAVD and degenerative mitral valve disease caused 102 700 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 82 700-107 900) and 35 700 (95% UI, 30 500-42 500) deaths, and 12.6 million (95% UI, 11.4 million-13.8 million) and 18.1 million (95% UI, 17.6 million-18.6 million) prevalent cases existed in 2017, respectively. A total of 2.5 million (95% UI, 2.3 million-2.8 million) DALYs were estimated as caused by nonrheumatic valvular diseases globally, representing 0.10% (95% UI, 0.09%-0.11%) of total lost health from all diseases in 2017. The number of DALYs increased for CAVD and degenerative mitral valve disease between 1990 and 2017 by 101% (95% UI, 79%-117%) and 35% (95% UI, 23%-47%), respectively. There is significant geographic variation in the prevalence, mortality rate, and overall burden of these diseases, with highest age-standardized DALY rates of CAVD estimated for high-income countries., Conclusions: These global and national estimates demonstrate that CAVD and degenerative mitral valve disease are important causes of disease burden among older adults. Efforts to clarify modifiable risk factors and improve access to valve interventions are necessary if progress is to be made toward reducing, and eventually eliminating, the burden of these highly treatable diseases.

Calcific aortic stenosis is a disease of the elderly and aortic valve replacement should always be considered for severe symptomatic disease; comorbidities, not age, determine surgical risk. Aortic regurgitation imposes a pressure and volume load on the left ventricle so that close monitoring is needed to identify patients at risk for irreversible left ventricular dysfunction, although symptoms are the most common indication for valve replacement. Early intervention now is recommended for rheumatic mitral stenosis due to the effectiveness of percutaneous balloon valvotomy. Earlier intervention also may be considered in selected patients with mitral regurgitation at experienced centers when valve anatomy is favorable for a successful repair. Semiquantitative descriptors of regurgitation as mild, moderate, or severe are no longer adequate; management of adults with chronic valve disease requires quantitation of both the severity of valve disease and of left ventricular size and systolic function.

Background: All indices of aortic stenosis (AS) rely on measurements of mean transvalvular pressure gradient (DeltaP) and flow rate. Because the gradient is reversed during late ejection, the late systolic left ventricular (LV)-aortic pressure crossover may be an erroneous landmark of end-ejection. The aortic incisura should be a better reference to calculate indices of AS invasively., Methods and Results: The accuracy of the pressure crossover and the incisura to define end-ejection was assessed in a chronic AS experimental model (9 dogs) with the use of an implantable flowmeter and Doppler echocardiography as reference. In 288 hemodynamic recordings analyzed (aortic valve area [AVA]: 0.74+/-0.46 cm2), ejection ended 37+/-29 ms after the pressure crossover but almost simultaneously with the incisura (2+/-17 ms). Pressure crossover error accounted for significant errors in the measurement of DeltaP (95% limits of agreement, +0 to +7 mm Hg) and AVA (-0.1 to +0.2 cm2). These errors were reduced to less than half with the use of the incisura to define end-ejection. Additionally, the agreement with Doppler-derived AS indices was best with use of the incisura. Pressure crossover error was maximal in situations of higher output, moderate orifice narrowing, higher arterial compliance, and lower vascular resistance. In 32 consecutive patients undergoing cardiac catheterization for AS, the pressure crossover induced a clinically important overestimation of the DeltaP from +22 to +50%. Errors in AVA estimation were considerably smaller (-2% to +6%) because of simultaneous and offsetting errors in the measurements of DeltaP and flow., Conclusions: The aortic incisura and not the second pressure crossover should be used to obtain invasive indices of AS.