Expedited Review
Heart Valve Disease
Updated Standardized Endpoint Definitions for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: The Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 Consensus Document

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Objectives

The aim of the current Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC)-2 initiative was to revisit the selection and definitions of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) clinical endpoints to make them more suitable to the present and future needs of clinical trials. In addition, this document is intended to expand the understanding of patient risk stratification and case selection.

Background

A recent study confirmed that VARC definitions have already been incorporated into clinical and research practice and represent a new standard for consistency in reporting clinical outcomes of patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing TAVI. However, as the clinical experience with this technology has matured and expanded, certain definitions have become unsuitable or ambiguous.

Methods and Results

Two in-person meetings (held in September 2011 in Washington, DC, USA, and in February 2012 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands) involving VARC study group members, independent experts (including surgeons, interventional and non-interventional cardiologists, imaging specialists, neurologists, geriatric specialists, and clinical trialists), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and industry representatives, provided much of the substantive discussion from which this VARC-2 consensus manuscript was derived. This document provides an overview of risk assessment and patient stratification that need to be considered for accurate patient inclusion in studies. Working groups were assigned to define the following clinical endpoints: mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction, bleeding complications, acute kidney injury, vascular complications, conduction disturbances and arrhythmias, and a miscellaneous category including relevant complications not previously categorized. Furthermore, comprehensive echocardiography recommendations are provided for the evaluation of prosthetic valve (dys)function. Definitions for the quality of life assessments are also reported. These endpoints formed the basis for several recommended composite endpoints.

Conclusions

This VARC-2 document has provided further standardization of endpoint definitions for studies evaluating the use of TAVI, which will lead to improved comparability and interpretability of the study results, supplying an increasingly growing body of evidence with respect to TAVI and/or surgical aortic valve replacement. This initiative and document can furthermore be used as a model during current endeavors of applying definitions to other transcatheter valve therapies (for example, mitral valve repair).

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All rights reserved. © The Author 2012. For permissions please email: [email protected]. Grants have been provided to the ARC Board including representatives of Cardialysis, the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, Duke Clinical Research Institute, and Harvard Clinical Research Institute to cover the costs of travel, meeting rooms, and lodging for academic attendees at the Washington and Rotterdam meetings by Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, Direct Flow Medical, Edwards Lifesciences, Heart Leaflet Technologies, Medtronic Corporation, and St. Jude Medical. VARC Participants will provide Conflict of Interest Disclosures individually prior to publication. The VARC meetings involved members of the Interventional Cardiology Devices Branch, of the Office of Device Evaluation, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, USFDA. The opinions or assertions herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as reflecting the views of the FDA.

The Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC) consists of representatives from several independent Academic Research Organization, several Surgery and Cardiology Societies, members of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and several independents experts. However, it is not a society document. Neither the societies nor the FDA have been asked to endorse the document.