Health · Healthcare & Policy · 2 hrs ago
Doctors plan aortic valve replacement with future procedures in mind
Italian specialists are rethinking how they plan aortic valve replacement as more patients receive treatment at younger ages.
The discussion took place at a meeting of the Italian Society of Interventional Cardiology in Milan.
The focus is on TAVI, a minimally invasive procedure that replaces the aortic valve without opening the chest.
Aortic stenosis occurs when the valve hardens and narrows, restricting blood flow from the heart; without treatment, it can lead to heart failure.
European guidelines now recommend TAVI as a first choice from age 70, down from 75, for people with a three-leaflet aortic valve.
Doctors say the first replacement should be chosen and positioned to keep the coronary arteries accessible and allow another valve procedure later if needed.
The aim is to plan care across a patient's lifetime, with heart teams considering possible treatment needs over the next 20 or 30 years.
Doctors are increasingly choosing the first aortic valve replacement with possible future procedures in mind.
The approach reflects the growing use of transcatheter aortic valve implantation, or TAVI, among younger patients in Italy.
Italy now performs more than 14,400 TAVI procedures a year, according to ANSA.
The strategy aims to plan heart care over a patient’s lifetime, including access to coronary arteries and the possibility of a second minimally invasive implant.
New European guidelines lowered the age for recommending TAVI as the first choice for tricuspid aortic stenosis from 75 to 70.
- Who
- Interventional cardiologists and multidisciplinary Heart Teams are planning valve treatment. Gise president Alfredo Marchese described the approach.
- What
- Doctors are selecting the first aortic valve replacement with possible future procedures in mind.
- When
- The approach was highlighted at a Gise congress that opened on October 13, 2026.
- Where
- At the Gise congress in Milan; the article also reports on TAVI procedures in Italy.
- Why
- Doctors are planning for patients’ heart health over the next 20 or 30 years and for possible future interventions.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
ANSA reported that a Gise congress opened in Milan with lifelong patient management in focus.
The ESC/EACTS guidelines lowered the age for recommending TAVI as the first choice for tricuspid aortic stenosis from 75 to 70.
- Annual TAVI procedures in Italy
- More than 14,400
- New guideline age
- 70, down from 75
- Long-term planning horizon
- 20 or 30 years
- Congress location
- Milan
- Organization
- Italian Society of Interventional Cardiology (Gise)
What people are saying
Today we plan the patient's heart health for the next 20 or 30 years.
TAVI represents a fundamental and decisive response to severe and symptomatic aortic valve stenosis.
Sources
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