Between a rock and a hard place: TAVR and ESRD

Aortic stenosis in combination with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a high-risk combination for surgical valve replacement and little data exists on the role of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) Pooled retrospective data from eight experienced TAVR sites suggests that TAVR can be accomplished in ESRD patients with first generation percutaneous valve at a risk similar to surgical approaches. Even with TAVR, valve replacement in the ESRD patient remain high risk and future improvements in technology and approaches to this poorly studied group are needed.