Three-Dimensional Measurement of Aortic Annulus Dimensions Using Area or Circumference for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Valve Sizing: Does It Make a Difference?

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The use of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is increasing worldwide. We present our 6-year experience using three-dimensional (3D) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and investigate whether different sizing methods of the aortic annulus lead to different prosthesis size that may impact outcome. METHODS: We investigated 262 patients who underwent TAVR and had 3D TEE data sets of the aortic annulus. We have used the area-derived diameter (D RESULTS: The D CONCLUSION: Using the aortic annulus area or circumference to calculate the annular diameter provides different values. Comparing the two methods, a different prosthesis size could have been implanted in 26.7% of patients. In our series the use of circumference-derived diameter resulted in lower incidence of PVAR. The findings of this study may be independent of the imaging modality and may therefore also apply to computed tomography-based aortic annulus measurements, but this needs to be further investigated.