Transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A breakthrough medical therapy! the 20-year odyssey, and now, a 10-year anniversary

摘要

The concluding statement from a first-in-man case report published in Circulation in 2002 was: "Nonsurgical implantation of a prosthetic heart valve can be successfully achieved with immediate and midterm hemodynamic and clinical improvement" [1]. The lead author of this short manuscript was Alain Cribier, and the procedure involved transcatheter placement of a bioprosthetic aortic valve in a desperately ill man with critical aortic stenosis (AS) and no therapy alternatives. At the time, it was impossible to predict the future of this new medical therapy, which at the same time appeared both reckless and revolutionary. In retrospect, 10 years later, this humble concluding statement laid the foundation for a medical breakthrough that has altered the landscape of cardiovascular medicine. The odyssey and the anniversary of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) deserve our attention and careful reflection.