Pacemakers
In the first year, a PPM was implanted in 8.9% of patients. Ten patients received PPM at 30-day, although it was lower than reported with the self-expanding CoreValve6, 7 and higher than reported from the JeneValve registry 16, 26. AR usually have a larger annulus and lack calcification. These reasons may have contributed to require a deeper depth of implantation and larger size of prosthesis. There is some evidence that THV deeper position in the LVOT is independently associated with a higher PPMI rate and the larger prosthesis size, valve oversizing is also relevant to risk factors for pacemakers 30.
Study limitations: Data were obtained in a non-randomized fashion, with the lack of comparative arms of patients with severe AR treated by surgery or medical therapy alone. Also, the sample size was relatively small, and the results were single-center collected, potentially introducing selection bias.
This single-center study reported the outcomes of TAVR in treating pure AR. Our results have demonstrated a favorable 1-year survival rate and symptomatic relieving benefits of TAVR in AR patients.