title: The change in mitral regurgitation severity after trans-catheter aortic valve implantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mitral regurgitation (MR) is a frequent finding in patients with aortic stenosis (AS). The objective of this study is to assess the change in MR severity following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).
  
  
  METHODS
  MR changes were assessed by comparing transthoracic echocardiography before and after the procedure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prosthetic aortic valve was successfully implanted in 65 patients. The number of patients with pre-procedure MR was reduced from 58 (85.3%) to 43 (63.2%) (p < 0.001). Vena contracta width was decreased from 0.47 ± 0.28 to 0.25 ± 0.21, (p = 0.043). About 59.4% (19/32) of those who had moderate to severe MR and 85.7% (12/14) of those with severe MR experienced a significant improvement in MR after the procedure (p < 0.001). Improvement in MR was independent of prosthetic valve type with 54.2% in CoreValve and 43.9% in Edwards SAPIEN, p = 0.424; valve sizes were 25.8 ± 1.9 in those who improved vs. 25.0 ± 1.9 mm in those who did not improve, p = 0.105; femoral approach was 51.2% and apical approach was 41.7%, p = 0.457; MR etiology was 48.1% in organic and 48.6% in functional, p = 0.968; and operative risk was 50.0% in EuroScore >20 and 48.6% in EuroScore <20, p = 0.356.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TAVI is associated with a significant improvement in MR, especially in severe types. The lack of influence of MR improvement by the etiology of MR, the type of valve implanted, and the operative risk need to be confirmed in a larger multi-center study.
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Almasood
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al Ahmari
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Haytham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: El-Shurafa
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alotaibi
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Saad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al Kasab
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Moheeb
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: AlAbdallah
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Moghairi
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al Khushail
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan Cardiac Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Husain
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Al-Amri
keywords: Aortic stenosis; Mitral regurgitation; TAVI