Multidisciplinary team approach for identifying potential candidate for transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

PURPOSE: We sought to evaluate the clinical usefulness of decision making by a multidisciplinary heart team for identifying potential candidates for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS:The multidisciplinary team consisted of two interventional cardiologists, two cardiovascular surgeons, one cardiac imaging specialist, and two cardiac anesthesiologists. RESULTS:Out of 60 patients who were screened as potential TAVI candidates, 31 patients were initially recommended as appropriate for TAVI, and 20 of these 31 eventually underwent TAVI. Twenty-two patients underwent surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR), and 17 patients received only medical treatment. Patients who underwent TAVI and medical therapy were older than those who underwent surgical AVR (p