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  • Editorial: Going from Evolut PRO+ to Evolut FX: A step in the right direction

    The last decade has witnessed tremendous growth in safety and efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with approved indications across all surgical risks in patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS). As TAVR has expanded into younger low surgical risk patients with longer life expectancy, the focus has shifted towards “lifetime management” of aortic stenosis (AS) and coronary artery disease. This includes hemodynamics and valve durability, coronary access post TAVR, reducing rates of post TAVR permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) and considerations for redo TAVR. The self-expanding transcatheter heart valve (THV) by Medtronic has gone through several iterations – CoreValve, Evolut R, Evolut PRO/PRO+ and the most recent 4th generation Evolut FX, which was approved by the FDA in August 2021 and introduced into the market in 2022. Each version of the valve provided additional benefits compared to its predecessor, while maintaining the self-expanding supra-annular design with accompanying excellent hemodynamics which are superior to the balloon expandable THVs and translate into better durability and outcomes when directly compared with surgical bioprostheses [  ]. When compared with the balloon expandable Sapien Valve (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA), use of the Evolut platform is associated with a greater learning curve for optimal and symmetric deployment, higher rate of paravalvular aortic regurgitation with the older versions of the valve, need for PPI post TAVR and challenging access for coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and concerns regarding coronary obstruction with redo TAVR.

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