Background: In the recent decades, the development of novel digital health technologies enables doctors to monitor ECG and vital signs remotely. But the data on applying the noninvasive wearable smartwatch on patients with transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are unknown. Methods and Results: We performed a prospective, observational cohort study to evaluate the feasibility of a novel, virtual, and remote health care strategy for patients with TAVR discharged to home with smart wearable devices. A total of 100 consecutive patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent elective transfemoral TAVR were enrolled and received the Huawei smartwatch at least 1 day before TAVR. Vital signs, including heart rate, rhythm, oxygen saturation, and activity, were continuously recorded. Single‐lead ECG was recorded twice per day in the week following TAVR discharge and at least 2 days a week for the subsequent month after TAVR discharge. A designated heart team member provided remote health care with the data from the smartwatch when the patient had a need. Thirty‐eight cardiac events were reported in 34 patients after discharge, with most of the events (76.0%) detected and confirmed by the smartwatch. Six patients were advised and readmitted to the hospital for arrhythmia events detected by the smartwatch, of whom 4 patients received pacemaker implantation. The remaining 28 (82.4%) patients received telemedicine monitoring instead of face‐to‐face clinical visits, and 3 of them received new medication treatment under the online guidance of doctors. New‐onset left branch bundle block was found in 48 patients, with transient characteristics, and recovered spontaneously in 30 patients, and new‐onset atrial fibrillation was detected in 4 patients. There were no significant differences in the average weekly heart rates or the ratio of abnormal or low oxygen saturation when compared with the baseline. The average daily steps increased over time significantly (baseline, 870±1353 steps; first week, 1986±2406 steps; second week, 2707±2716 steps; third week, 3059±3036 steps; fourth week, 3678±3485 steps, P <0.001). Conclusions: Smartwatches can facilitate remote health care for patients discharged to home after undergoing TAVR and enable a novel remote follow‐up strategy. The majority of cardiac clinical events that occurred within 30‐day follow‐up were detected by the smartwatch, mainly because of the record of conduction abnormality. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT04454177.

Far less attention has been paid to the prognostic effect of right‐side heart disease on outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) when compared with the left side. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis on the impact of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and right ventricular (RV) dysfunction on outcomes after TAVR. We hypothesized that TR and RV dysfunction may have a deleterious effect on outcomes after TAVR. Article revealing the prognostic effect of TR and RV dysfunction on outcomes after TAVR were being integrated. Random or fixed effect model was adopted in accordance with the heterogeneity. There were nine studies with a total of 6466 patients enrolled after a comprehensive literature search of the MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and Cochrane databases. The overall analysis revealed that moderate or severe TR at baseline increased all‐cause mortality after TAVR (HR = 1.79, CI 95% 1.52‐2.11, P < 0.001). Both baseline RV dysfunction (HR = 1.53, CI 95% 1.27‐1.83, P < 0.001) and presence of RV dilation (HR = 1.83, CI 95% 1.47‐2.27, P < 0.001) were associated with all‐cause mortality. Both baseline moderate or severe TR and RV dysfunction worsen prognosis after TAVR and careful assessment of right heart function should be done for clinical decision by the heart team before the TAVR procedure.

Background: Patient-specific computer simulation of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) can provide unique insights in device-patient interaction.Aims: This study was to compare transcatheter aortic valve sealing behavior in patients with bicuspid aortic valves (BAV) and tricuspid aortic valves (TAV) through patient-specific computational modeling.Methods: Patient-specific computer simulation was retrospectively performed with FEops HEARTguide for TAVR patients. Simulation output was compared with postprocedural computed tomography and echocardiography to validate the accuracy. Skirt malapposition was defined by a distance larger than 1 mm based on the predicted device-patient interaction by quantifying the distance between the transcatheter heart valve (THV) skirt and the surrounding anatomical regions.Results: In total, 43 patients were included in the study. Predicted and observed THV frame deformation showed good correlation (R² ≥ 0.90) for all analyzed measurements (maximum diameter, minimum diameter, area, and perimeter). The amount of predicted THV skirt malapposition was strongly linked with the echocardiographic grading of paravalvular leakage (PVL). More THV skirt malapposition was observed for BAV cases when compared to TAV cases (22.7 vs. 15.5%, p < 0.05). A detailed analysis of skirt malapposition showed a higher degree of malapposition in the interleaflet triangles section for BAV cases as compared to TAV patients (11.1 vs. 5.8%, p < 0.05).Conclusions: Patient-specific computer simulation of TAVR can accurately predict the behavior of the Venus A-valve. BAV patients are associated with more malapposition of the THV skirt as compared to TAV patients, and this is mainly driven by more malapposition in the interleaflet triangle region.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally yet remains under-recognized and under-researched in women. Despite increasing emphasis on sex and gender influences in CVD, there is limited and conflicting evidence on sex differences in the burden and risk factors of CVD worldwide. We aimed to assess sex differences in the global burden of CVD and its attributable risk factors from 1990 to 2021. Material and methods: Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 examined sex differences in CVD incidence, prevalence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), including ischemic heart disease, stroke, cardiomyopathy, and others. We evaluated absolute, rate-based, and age-standardized measures, as well as sex-specific risk factor burdens. Results: Age-standardized incidence, prevalence, mortality, and DALY rates of CVD were consistently higher in males compared with females across most CVD types. Ischemic heart disease showed the largest disparities, with males having higher incidence (147.9 [95% uncertainty interval 57.7–244.6] per 100 000), prevalence (1253.6 [633.1–1816.6] per 100 000), mortality (51.0 [38.3–63.1] per 100 000), and DALY rates (1286.2 [1069.9–1511.7] per 100 000) compared to females. In contrast, females had higher incidence (55.9 [33.9–79.6] per 100 000) and prevalence rates (699.5 [415.5–983.5] per 100 000) compared to males in lower extremity peripheral arterial disease. A stable difference between females and males was observed in age-standardized DALY rates for overall CVD between 1990 and 2021. High systolic blood pressure, dietary risks, and air pollution were major contributors to CVD-related DALYs for both sexes, although tobacco use (144.0 million DALYs for males vs. 31.5 million for females), elevated LDL cholesterol (130.1 million DALYs for males vs. 75.9 million for females), and impaired kidney function (59.8 million DALYs for males vs. 39.3 million for females) were disproportionately higher in males. Conclusion: The global burden of CVD is substantially higher in males compared with females, particularly for ischemic heart disease. While primary risk factors are shared, males show a greater burden from tobacco use and elevated LDL cholesterol.

Background: There are limited data available on the development of arrhythmias in patients at risk of high-degree atrioventricular block (HAVB) or complete heart block (CHB) following transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Objective: This study aimed to explore the incidence and evolution of arrhythmias by monitoring patients at risk of HAVB or CHB after TAVR using smartwatches. Methods: We analyzed 188 consecutive patients in the prospective SMART TAVR (smartwatch-facilitated early discharge in patients undergoing TAVR) trial. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the risk of HAVB or CHB. Patients were required to trigger a single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) recording and send it to the Heart Health App via their smartphone. Physicians in the central ECG core lab would then analyze the ECG. The incidence and timing of arrhythmias and pacemaker implantation within a 30-day follow-up were compared. All arrhythmic events were adjudicated in a central ECG core lab. Results: The mean age of the patients was 73.1 (SD 7.3) years, of whom 105 (55.9%) were men. The mean discharge day after TAVR was 2.0 (SD 1.8) days. There were no statistically significant changes in the evolution of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter, Mobitz I, Mobitz II, and third-degree atrial ventricular block over time in the first month after TAVR. The incidence of the left bundle branch block (LBBB) increased in the first week and decreased in the subsequent 3 weeks significantly (P<.001). Patients at higher risk of HAVB or CHB received more pacemaker implantation after discharge (n=8, 9.6% vs n=2, 1.9%; P=.04). The incidence of LBBB was higher in the group with higher HAVB or CHB risk (n=47, 56.6% vs n=34, 32.4%; P=.001). The independent predictors for pacemaker implantation were age, baseline atrial fibrillation, baseline right bundle branch block, Mobitz II, and third-degree atrioventricular block detected by the smartwatch. Conclusions: Except for LBBB, no change in arrhythmias was observed over time in the first month after TAVR. A higher incidence of pacemaker implantation after discharge was observed in patients at risk of HAVB or CHB. However, Mobitz II and third-degree atrioventricular block detected by the smartwatch during follow-ups were more valuable indicators to predict pacemaker implantation after discharge from the index TAVR. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04454177; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04454177

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