Abbott’s Portico transcatheter aortic valve reduces severe aortic stenosis

Patients who received a Portico aortic heart valve had low rates of stroke, death and valve leak; and improved quality of life

Abbott recently announced one-year results from a real-world, international, multicenter, 941-patient study of the company’s Portico transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) system in patients with symptomatic, severe aortic stenosis – a life-threatening narrowing of the heart’s aortic valve.

At one year, implantation with the Portico valve was safe and associated with low rates of stroke, death and leaks between patients’ natural heart tissue and the Portico valve.

The one-year results from the PORTICO I study were presented during a late-breaking session at the 30^th Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), the annual scientific symposium of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in San Diego, and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The Portico transcatheter valve is a minimally invasive alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement for patients diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis who are high-risk candidates for open-heart surgery.

“Portico offers physicians the ability to safely and successfully treat patients suffering from symptomatic, severe aortic stenosis with a high level of confidence,” said Lars Sondergaard, MD, DMSc, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark and principal investigator of the study.

“These one-year results in a real-world setting give us assurance that Portico is an excellent and important treatment option for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at increased risk for open-heart surgery,” added Lars

In this study, at one year, patients who received a Portico valve had low rates of mortality, stroke, paravalvular leak, and sustained significantly improved hemodynamic performance. The proportion of patients classified with severe heart failure (NYHA Class III/IV) decreased from 63.8 per cent at baseline to 7.7 per cent at one year.

Abbott recently received regulatory approval in Europe for a sheathless introduction of the Portico valve, which makes it easier for doctors to use the valve in patients with severe disease and complex anatomies. The small, sheathless profile may lower the risk of serious adverse events and vascular complications such as internal damage to the arteries.The Portico Transcatheter Aortic Valve is approved for investigational use only in the U.S.