Tag Archives: heart valve prosthesis implantation

Introduction Surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) is the best established treatment for severe, symptomatic aortic valve stenosis (AS), where it restores life-expectancy to levels seen in the general population.1 Ideally, patients with AS should be followed-up in a valve clinic, so that the optimal timing for performing SAVR can be determined, based on a combination of periodically assessed symptoms, signs, imaging and laboratory tests.2,3 Operating too late carries an increased risk of death and of peri-operative complications, related to (potentially irreversible) deterioration of left ventricular (LV) function from afterload mismatch.