The short-term mortality of patients with severe aortic stenosis is high, which presents a great challenge to clinical treatment. With the development of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), emergent TAVR brings hope for the treatment of these patients. We present here a case of emergent TAVR procedure. The patient was an elderly male who had previously undergone surgical mitral valve replacement. After fully assessing the risk/benefit of TAVR procedure, emergent TAVR was performed for the patient. The patient was in good condition at two-month follow-up. Emergent TAVR is a good option for critical high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis.
With the development of transcatheter aortic valve replacement, it has become the first-line treatment for elderly patients with aortic valve stenosis. A case of transcatheter aortic valve replacement in a patient at high risk of coronary artery occlusion was reported. The use of intravascular ultrasound to observe the spatial relationship between the coronary ostia and the valve was the characteristic of this case. This patient was an elderly male who was assessed as a high risk of acute coronary artery occlusion before transcatheter aortic valve replacement. After fully evaluation of the patient’s surgical risks\benefits, the strategy was formulated. Percutaneous coronary intervention was the first step. At the same time, intravascular ultrasound was used to observe the spatial relationship between the coronary ostia and the valve, and balloon was embedded for coronary protection. The procedure went smoothly.
Objective To evaluate the coronary artery ostium obstruction caused by the commissure of transcatheter heart valve (THV) with the markers on THV under X-ray, which was identified by observing the position relationship between the commissure of THV and the coronary artery ostium from analyzing aortic root computed tomographic angiography (CTA) images after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 25 patients undergoing TAVR who were checked with electrocardiographically gated CTA for the aortic root after the TAVR procedure between January 2020 and December 2021 in General Hospital of Northern Theater Command. The images of THV with the lowest position of non-coronary sinus and the right anterior oblique and caudal in most cases were observed when the THVs were deployed. The position relationships of the three markers on the THV after valve release were recorded, which were divided into three conditions, namely the three markers being averagely distributed, the middle marker being close to left, and the middle marker being close to right. Postoperative CTA images of the patients were analyzed. The angle between the commissure of THV and the coronary artery ostium was measured, and the angles in each group were presented as medium (lower quartile, upper quartile). Results A total of 17 patients were finally included. The angles between the commissure of THV and the left coronary artery ostium were 19.0 (16.0, 31.0)°, 36.0 (15.0, 44.0)°, and 3.0 (3.0, 5.0)° in the markers averagely distributed group (n=7), the middle marker close to left group (n=6), and the middle marker close to right group (n=4), respectively, which were significantly different (P=0.033). The angles between the commissure of THV and the right coronary artery ostium were 43.0 (25.0, 51.0)°, 47.0 (41.0, 57.0)°, and 13.0 (7.5, 21.0)° in the markers averagely distributed group, the middle marker close to left group, and the middle marker close to right group, respectively, which were significantly different (P=0.017). There was significant difference in the obstruction degrees of left coronary artery ostium by the commissure of THV (P=0.008), and no significant difference in the obstruction degrees of right coronary artery ostium (P=0.062). When the middle marker was close to right, there was no more than moderately obstruction on the right coronary artery ostium and no any obstruction on the left coronary artery ostium. When the middle marker was close to left, the obstruction rate of the left coronary artery ostium with more than moderate degree was 4/6 (66.7%) and it was 6/6 (100.0%) for the right coronary artery ostium. Conclusions The degree of coronary artery ostium obstruction by the commissure of THV can be accurately evaluated by using markers on THV. Among them, when the middle marker is close to right, the commissures of THV are least likely to block the coronary artery ostium.