Martin B Leon, Craig R Smith, Michael J Mack, Raj R Makkar, Lars G Svensson, Susheel K Kodali, Vinod H Thourani, E Murat Tuzcu, D Craig Miller, Howard C Herrmann, Darshan Doshi, David J Cohen, Augusto D Pichard, Samir Kapadia, Todd Dewey, Vasilis Babaliaros, Wilson Y Szeto, Mathew R Williams, Dean Kereiakes, Alan Zajarias, Kevin L Greason, Brian K Whisenant, Robert W Hodson, Jeffrey W Moses, Alfredo Trento, David L Brown, William F Fearon, Philippe Pibarot, Rebecca T Hahn, Wael A Jaber, William N Anderson, Maria C Alu, John G Webb
BACKGROUND: Previous trials have shown that among high-risk patients with aortic stenosis, survival rates are similar with transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) and surgical aortic-valve replacement. We evaluated the two procedures in a randomized trial involving intermediate-risk patients. METHODS: We randomly assigned 2032 intermediate-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis, at 57 centers, to undergo either TAVR or surgical replacement. The primary end point was death from any cause or disabling stroke at 2 years...
April 28, 2016: New England Journal of Medicine