The latest results from long-term follow-up of the two trials evaluating transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) vs surgery in patients with low surgical risk have shown different results.
The PARTNER-3 and Evolut trials were heralded as a landmark advance in medicine when the 1-year results from the two studies were presented back in 2019. Both trials suggested benefits of the less-invasive TAVR approach over surgery.
But because these low-surgical-risk patients are younger and will likely have a longer lifespan than will higher risk patients for whom the TAVR technique was first established, patient outcomes and information on how the TAVR devices hold up over the long-term are critical to inform clinical decision-making.
Latest results from the two trials show that the initial benefits of TAVR over surgery seen in PARTNER-3 seem to have attenuated over the longer-term, with main outcomes looking very similar in both groups after 5 years.
However, in the Evolut trial, the early benefit in all-cause mortality or disabling stroke seen in the TAVR group is continuing to increase, with current results showing a 26% relative reduction in this endpoint with TAVR vs surgery at 4 years.
The 5-year results of the PARTNER-3 trial and the 4-year results of the Evolut study were presented this week at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics 2023 meeting, held in San Francisco.
