Aortic stenosis (AS), the narrowing of the aortic valve opening which restricts blood flow to the aorta, afflicts nearly 1.5 million people in the United States, with approximately 500,000 of them suffering severe aortic stenosis. While open-heart surgery has historically been the recommended treatment for AS, some patients at high or extreme risk are not considered good candidates. Today, new data demonstrates that for patients at intermediate-risk for open-heart surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with the latest generation of balloon-expandable device - SAPIEN 3 - is superior to surgery, resulting in better patient outcomes. This study, conducted by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in partnership with Edwards Lifesciences, the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, and 50 centers across the United States and Canada, was presented today at the American College of Cardiology 65th Annual Scientific Session in Chicago and simultaneously published online in The Lancet.
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