title: Echocardiographic follow-up after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
abstract: The use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for high-risk patients with aortic stenosis has rapidly increased during the past years. Accordingly, more and more patients are referred for a follow-up echocardiographic study after TAVR. However, the echocardiographic evaluation of patients who underwent TAVR places specific demands on echocardiographers. Furthermore, TAVR may be associated with new types of complications, which are frequently unrecognized or underestimated due to lack of familiarity with the normal and pathological appearance of TAVR. Therefore, this review summarizes the echocardiographic parameters describing the structural and functional status of bioprostheses used in TAVR, procedures taking into account their peculiar hemodynamics. We also describe the strengths and the limitations of echocardiography and of other imaging modalities in detecting long-term complications of TAVR (eg, infective endocarditis, thrombosis). The aim of this review was to serve as a guide for a structured echocardiographic follow-up of TAVR patients, as well as for the echocardiographic diagnosis of the procedure-associated complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.|University Heart Center Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Vladislavs
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9550-1953
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sokalskis
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Denisa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Muraru
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fraccaro
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Napodano
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Augusto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Onofrio
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tarantini
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi Paolo
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Badano
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D015996:Survival Rate; D065467:Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: aortic stenosis; aortic valve; echocardiography; endocarditis; thrombosis; transcatheter aortic valve replacement