Background: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a viable alternative therapeutic approach for patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS), following technological innovations in transcatheter aortic valve systems and advances in clinical expertise, which aim to optimize valve hemodynamics. In this study, we aimed to compare early hemodynamic changes in different types of TAVI valves via two-dimensional echocardiography. Methods: This retrospective observational study examined patients with severe AS who underwent transfemoral TAVI. Patients were classified according to expansion mechanism (self-expanding valves (SEVs) or balloon-expandable valves (BEVs)) and leaflet position relative to the annulus (supra-annular valves (SAVs) or intra-annular valves (IAVs)). The implanted prostheses were Edwards SAPIEN XT valves (ESV, Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA, USA), Medtronic valves (Core Valve-MCV and Evolut R, Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA), Portico valves (St. Jude Medical, Saint Paul, MN, USA), and Myval valves (Meril Life Sciences, Vapi, India). Baseline two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) datasets were compared with post-TAVI measures obtained before discharge. Results: In total (n = 332), 275 (82.8%) patients were treated with SEVs, and 57 (17.2%) were treated with BEVs. In terms of leaflet position, 249 (75%) patients were treated with SAVs, and the remaining 83 (25%) patients were treated with IAVs. Transaortic gradients were comparable between patients treated with SEVs and BEVs. However, patients treated with IAVs exhibited significantly higher aortic maximum gradients (16 [13–21] mmHg vs. 14 [10–20] mmHg, p = 0.019) and mean gradients (9 [7–11] mmHg vs. 8 [5–10] mmHg, p = 0.014) compared to those receiving SAVs. Post-TAVI gradients were also compared based on each TAVI device. Although post-TAVI aortic maximum gradient was comparable among TAVI devices (p = 0.080), aortic mean gradient was significantly different among the valves (p = 0.006). Post hoc analyses demonstrated that the post-TAVI mean gradient was significantly lower in Medtronic CoreValve compared to the Myval (p = 0.013) and Portico (p = 0.030). No significant differences were observed in the frequency of perivalvular leak between the valve groups. Conclusions: We found that post-TAVI transaortic gradients of SEVs and BEVs were comparable; however, SAVs were associated with lower transaortic gradients than those of the IAVs. In addition, the frequency of ≥moderate PVL was comparable between the valve groups.

Background: Despite continuous advancements in diagnostic imaging and targeted antimicrobial protocols for infective endocarditis (IE), global epidemiological data show that both disease burden and incidence continue to rise. This study aimed to evaluate real-world diagnostic and treatment approaches in accordance with the 2023 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) IE Guidelines and to identify independent predictors of mortality in a contemporary patient cohort. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study analyzed data from 470 consecutive adult patients diagnosed with IE across 27 academic reference centers between 1 September 2023 and 1 June 2025. Patients were managed and adjudicated according to the 2023 ESC diagnostic criteria. Demographic data, clinical characteristics, microbiological profiles, imaging findings, empirical antibiotic therapy patterns, and clinical outcomes were analyzed. Independent predictors of mortality were determined using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models. Results: The mean age of the overall study population was 58.08 ± 16.81 years, with a male predominance (60.6%, n = 285). Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently isolated pathogen (27.9%), with a high proportion of methicillin resistance (38.9%). Hospital-acquired IE was identified in 41.1% of cases. Surgical treatment was performed in 40.6% (n = 191) of the cohort. The 28-day mortality rate was 11.9%, and the overall mortality during follow-up reached 26.4%. Multivariable Cox regression analysis identified hospital-acquired IE (HR = 2.247; 95% CI: 1.216–4.167; p = 0.010) and the presence of major clinical complications (HR = 4.207; 95% CI: 1.556–11.378; p = 0.005) as the strongest independent predictors of mortality. Conclusions: Contemporary infective endocarditis is a highly complex and fatal disease characterized by a prominent healthcare-associated burden and a predominant staphylococcal etiology. The occurrence of major clinical complications and hospital-acquired infections were the primary independent predictors of mortality.

Objective: Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) is increasingly prevalent among aging populations and in patients with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, aortoiliac obstructive disease, coronary artery disease, and/or hypertension. Patients with severe ARAS are at a substantially elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, recurrent congestive heart failure, stroke, ischemic nephropathy, and chronic kidney disease. Therefore, the ARAS-TR study aims to evaluate the effect of renal artery stenting on the clinical outcomes in patients with severe ARAS and renovascular hypertension. Materials: This study was conducted as a multicenter, prospective study between July 2024 and September 2025. It encompassed 278 patients with angiographically confirmed severe ARAS who underwent renal artery stent implantation. Patients were subsequently monitored for 6 months. A paired-samples t-test was used to compare continuous variables pre- and post-intervention, while categorical variables were analyzed using the Pearson chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. Results: The mean age of the patients was 63.6 [±13.4] years, and the male gender ratio was 52.5%. After renal artery stenting, systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased significantly at the 6-month follow-up compared with the pre-procedure levels (SBP 166.99 [21.24] vs. 135.40 [15.69], p < 0.001; DBP 96.28 [13.03] vs. 80.39 [11.03], p < 0.001, respectively). GFR (61.23 [28.33] vs. 63.35 [26.36], p = 0.029) and creatinine (1.40 [0.93] vs. 1.29 [0.66], p = 0.004) levels improved compared to baseline. The mean number of antihypertensive drugs required for patients to remain normotensive decreased significantly (3.19 [1.04] vs. 2.48 [1.13], p < 0.001) during the follow-up period. Conclusions: Percutaneous renal artery intervention appears to be a promising and safe strategy for carefully selected high-risk patients presenting with severe ARAS, renovascular hypertension, and non-atrophic kidneys. In this specific clinical context, restoring renal artery patency through percutaneous stenting was associated with improved renal function and observed reduction in the burden of antihypertensive drugs required to sustain normotension.