Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in Italy: an uneven growth

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is the treatment of choice in patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who are not suitable for surgery. The procedure has become the preferred strategy in patients at intermediate/high surgical risk with favourable clinical and anatomical characteristics. The collected scientific evidences, as well as the technologic innovations shaping the newer devices, allowed for a progressive reduction of the procedure-related complications as a well as a simplification of the procedure itself, promoting the gradual expansion of the indication for TAVI with the consequent increase in the estimated number of procedures performed each year. There are significant geographic and socio-economic disparities in the use of TAVI around the world and in Italy as well, reflecting an application of the procedure directly related to the economic prosperity of the Health System of the Country examined. The Italian situation, similar to the worldwide reality, reveals an uneven application of the procedure, signalling a disparity in the socio-economic and organizational capabilities of each single region. Standardization of patient selection for treatment, and of the clinical pathway for TAVI are crucial for an homogeneous integration of this new technology in the current Health Care System.