Aortic Bioprosthetic Valve Durability: Incidence, Mechanisms, Predictors, and Management of Surgical and Transcatheter Valve Degeneration

Abstract

In recent times, there has been a considerable increase in the use of aortic bioprostheses (vs. mechanical prostheses) for treating aortic valve disease, and this tendency is likely to continue in the near future. However, the occurrence of structural valve degeneration, limiting valve durability, remains an important drawback of surgical and transcatheter bioprostheses. In this paper, we provide an overview of bioprosthetic valve durability, focusing on the definition, incidence, mechanisms, predictive factors, and management of structural degeneration of aortic bioprostheses.

Keywords: aortic valve insufficiency; aortic valve stenosis; bioprosthesis; heart valve prosthesis; transcatheter aortic valve implantation; transcatheter aortic valve replacement.