Choice of transcatheter heart valve: should we select the device according to each patient’s characteristics or should it be “one valve fits all”?

Abstract

Since its introduction at the beginning of the century, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has implicated a paradigm shift in the treatment of patients with symptomatic aortic valve stenosis. The past years have brought about major improvements of procedural outcomes owing to advances in imaging and patient selection, global experience, and device technology. Whereas in the early stages of TAVR, only two different devices with limited sizes and access options were used, currently a variety of different transcatheter heart valves (THVs) are available. This has expanded the spectrum of patients that can be treated with TAVR and has allowed for sophisticated device selection tailored to the patients’ individual anatomy and comorbidities. The big question is whether such a customized device selection is really necessary—or is there one valve type that fits all patients? With this question in mind, the authors provide an overview of contemporary THVs, including technical specifications and clinical data, that help us to understand the potential value of a differential use of THVs.