Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implementation at Hospital Without On-site Cardiac Surgery: Early Clinical Outcome in Patients With Prohibitive Surgical Risk.

Inclusion criteria

• Senile degenerative aortic valve stenosis with echocardiography derived criteria: mean gradient > 40 mmHg or jet velocity > 4.0 m/s aortic valve area (AVA) of < 0.8 cm2 (or AVA index < 0.5 cm2/m2)
• Symptomatic due to aortic valve stenosis as demonstrated by NYHA Functional Class > = II
• Age >= 75 years old
• Patients with prohibitive risk established in the Heart Team and defined on the basis of the following clinica instrument criteria according with the Varc-2 consensus.
• High surgical risk (%, logES>20%, EuroSCORE II > 9 and STS score > 8%)
• Porcelain aorta (heavy circumferential calcification or severe atheromatous plaques that do not allow clamping.
• Hostile chest (abnormal chest wall anatomy due to severe kyphoscoliosis or other skeletal abnormalities, complications form to previous surgery, evidence of severe radiotion damege, history of multiple recurrent pleural effusions causing internal adhesions.
• Fragilty (slowness, weakness, exhaustion, wasting and malnutrition, poor endurance and inactivity, loss of independence, BMI < 20 Kg/m2 and or weight loss 5 kg/year, serum albumin < 3,5 g/dl, cognitive impairment or dementia)
• Severe liver disease/cirrosis
• Presence of a patent graft of an internal mammary artery crossing mildline and/or adherent to posterior table of sternum
• Severe pulmoary hypertension
• Severe right ventricular dysfunction
• Transfemoral access allowed
• Signature of informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Tavi in case of aortic valve bioprosthesis (TAVI valve-in valve)
• controindication to femoral access
• Bicuspid aortic valve
• Instrumental characteristics, evaluated by angioTC, associated with an increased risk of major complications: severe left ventricle outflow tract or sub annular calcification, condition associated with an increased risk of rupture of the valve ring, presence of complex aortic plaques correlated with the possibility of dissection, valvular ring-coronary ostia distance < 10 mm associated with a high probability of coronary obstruction, severe aortic root dilatation or out of range aortic annulus diameters for TAVI are not complatible for safe valve implatation.