April 23, 2021
The Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC) has updated their standardized definitions of clinical endpoints for transcatheter and surgical aortic valve clinical trials, including bioprosthetic valve dysfunction and failure, structural complications, conduction disturbances, and repeat hospitalizations, among others.
Published this week in the
European Heart Journal and the
Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the VARC-3 update was adopted given the “rapid evolution of the field,” including the emergence of new complications, expanding clinical indications, and novel therapy strategies, according to the writing committee.
As aortic valve research moves into younger patients, as well as those with less advanced aortic stenosis, future trials be they head-to-head comparisons of TAVI devices, TAVI versus surgery, or even TAVI or surgery versus medical therapy will need standardized definitions for capturing appropriate endpoints, the authors stre