Medtronic CoreValve holds up well in four-year follow-up study
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Medtronic's CoreValve has demonstrated long-term durability and clinical efficacy in what the company claims is the longest follow-up study of any transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system. The study followed 50 patients, with an average age of 81 years with native aortic valve diseases, who were implanted with CoreValve in 2005 and 2006. At four years, the data demonstrated a cardiac survival rate of 68%. In addition, patients showed a "substantial improvement in heart failure symptoms"; 87% of them were classified as having New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class III or IV (severe) heart failure at the start of the study, but after four years, 83% were classified as either Class I or II (mild). The implanted valve also demonstrated a sustained, stable gradient (signifying resistance to blood flow) in the follow-up, as well as no reported frame fractures or valve migration and no reported structural valve deteriorations.