Hemodynamic Impact of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Deployment Configuration

Transcatheter aortic valve (TAV) replacement holds promise for a large number of patients who otherwise have limited or no treatment options. However, it also poses various challenges, due to its unique disease treatment mechanism. Successful TAV deployment and function are heavily reliant on the tissue-stent interaction [1,2]. For patients with aortic stenosis, heavy calcium deposition on the valve leaflets and the aortic root can also cause distortion of TAV geometries, resulting in a valve of an elliptical shape [3–5] instead of a nominal circular shape. In a recent study by Schultz et al. [5], the geometry and apposition of the TAV after implantation in 30 patients with aortic stenosis were evaluated using multislice computed tomography. The results indicated that none of the TAV frames reached exactly nominal designed dimensions. The difference between the orthogonal smallest and largest diameters of TAV cross section...