Alcohol septal ablation in patients with concomitant hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and aortic valvular stenosis

Conservative Management of Suicide Left Ventricle After Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement

Suicide left ventricle (SLV) remains an underdiagnosed cause of haemodynamic compromise following surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (AVR). Risk factors include female sex and a small left ventricular cavity with asymmetric septal hypertrophy. We present the case of a 63-year-old woman, with a medical history of diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and dyslipidaemia who was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis with normal left ventricular ejection fraction and concentric hypertrophy. She underwent surgical AVR using a bioprosthetic valve, but a few hours after surgery, she developed sudden cardiogenic shock. An urgent transthoracic echocardiogram was performed showing marked systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve resulting in severe dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and intraventricular gradient. The diagnosis of SLV was made. The patient was managed conservatively with volume loading and oral beta-blockers and her haemodynamic state improved gradually. She was then discharged after favourable evolution. Medical management of SLV includes volume loading to expand the ventricular volume and beta-blockers for their negative inotrope effect. When medical therapy fails, surgical myectomy or alcohol septal ablation can be proposed to remove the obstacle. Some authors have proposed these procedures as prophylactic measures to prevent SLV in high-risk patients.

A Word of Caution Before Treating Aortic Stenosis in Patients With Concomitant LVOT Obstruction

Patients with aortic stenosis and concomitant left ventricular outflow tract obstruction undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement are at risk of hemodynamic collapse after the procedure due to worsening left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. We present 3 cases highlighting the important interplay between these 2 disease states and associated diagnostic and treatment challenges. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.)

Non-surgical management of an acute decompensated heart failure patient with severe aortic stenosis and concomitant left ventricular outflow tract obstruction

Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) due to severe aortic stenosis (AS) and concomitant left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction is a serious condition. Treatment with medication alone is sometimes difficult, and the efficacy of further interventional strategies has not been fully elucidated. In patients with high surgical risks, combination therapy using transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and percutaneous alcohol septal ablation (ASA) is used as a non-surgical intervention. However, this treatment cannot be performed under unstable hemodynamic conditions. This report highlights the utility and efficacy of emergent balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) in controlling heart failure and its potential to serve as a bridge to curative therapy, even in older patients with ADHF due to severe AS with concomitant LVOT obstruction. Furthermore, combination therapy with TAVR and percutaneous ASA could be safely performed after controlling for ADHF using BAV. Non-surgical management is a more feasible treatment option in older patients with ADHF who are at higher risk of complications during surgical intervention.

<Learning objective: Management of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) due to severe aortic stenosis (AS) and concomitant left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction can be difficult. Despite concomitant LVOT obstruction, emergent balloon aortic valvuloplasty is potentially useful and effective for controlling heart failure and could become a bridge to subsequent combination therapy using transcatheter aortic valve replacement and percutaneous alcohol septal ablation. This sequential non-surgical management is a novel strategy for older patients with high surgical risk and ADHF due to severe AS with concomitant LVOT obstruction.>

Unexpected suicide left ventricle post-surgical aortic valve replacement requiring veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support despite gold-standard therapy: a case report

Background

Suicide left ventricle is a well-documented phenomenon occurring after valve replacement, however, it is most commonly described in the mitral valve replacement (MVR) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) population. Cases within the surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) population usually resolve with optimal medical and interventional therapies. We describe a case of left ventricular suicide following SAVR presenting with persistent haemodynamic instability despite currently accepted medical and surgical therapies.

Case summary

A 62-year-old male with severe aortic stenosis presented for SAVR and a MAZE procedure. There were no significant signs of ventricular hypertrophy on preoperative transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE). Intraoperatively, there was mild chordal systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve (SAM) which only occurred when underfilled. During recovery in the intensive care unit, the patient’s pulmonary arterial pressures were noted to rise with worsening cardiac output. Subsequent TTE showed severe dynamic left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction secondary to SAM. Due to refractory medical management, an alcohol septal ablation was performed. Despite resolution of obstruction, the patient exhibited biochemical signs of systemic hypoperfusion, and thus veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) support was initiated. Following 72 h of VA-ECMO support, the patient was weaned with complete resolution of biochemical insults. He was subsequently discharged from the hospital without complication.

Discussion

Compared to the TAVR population, suicide ventricle post-SAVR is comparatively rare. Patients who exhibit persistent impaired cardiac output postoperatively should be investigated rapidly with echocardiography. Furthermore, resolution of a LVOT obstruction state from procedural intervention may not immediately follow with improved cardiac output, and may require further supportive management.

The Role of Invasive Hemodynamics in Guiding Contemporary Transcatheter Valvular Interventions

Recent advances in transcatheter interventions have refueled the interest in utilizing invasive hemodynamics in the catheterization laboratory. The authors review contemporary invasive techniques used to confirm valve disease and guide transcatheter valve interventions. They also discuss the available data and the remaining questions on the role of invasive hemodynamics in current practice and in the future.

Case Report: Minimally Invasive Therapy by Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement and Percutaneous Intramyocardial Septal Radiofrequency Ablation for a Patient With Aortic Stenosis Combined With Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy: Two-Year Follow-Up Results

With the development of minimally invasive technologies in the medical field, more and more technologies can replace surgical thoracotomy and relieve the pain of disease via minimally invasive methods. We reported a case of aortic valve stenosis combined with left ventricular outflow track obstruction treated by two minimally invasive techniques, transcatheter aortic valve replacement and transthoracic echocardiography–guided percutaneous intramyocardial septal radiofrequency ablation, and followed up for 2 years.

The use of MitraClip to prevent posttranscatheter aortic valve replacement left ventricular "suicide"

Patients with concomitant severe aortic stenosis (AS) and left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are at risk for hemodynamic collapse due to a sudden decrease in afterload causing worsening LVOT obstruction. We present a case of an 88-year-old female with symptomatic, severe AS, and LVOT obstruction with systolic anterior motion (SAM) of the mitral leaflet in whom alcohol septal ablation was contraindicated secondary to a chronic total occlusion of the right coronary artery that filled retrograde via septal collaterals. MitraClip at the time of TAVR was successfully performed to treat SAM with subsequent stabilization of LVOT gradients despite treatment of the patient's AS. This novel approach may represent a feasible option to prevent hemodynamic complications after TAVR in patients with significant LVOT obstruction secondary to SAM and AS.

Combined alcohol septal ablation and transcatheter aortic valve replacement: Drunk and playing with fire

Evaluation of the severity of aortic stenosis in the presence of dynamic left ventricular outflow (LVOT) obstruction is challenging. Invasive hemodynamic assessment with provocative maneuvers can be useful to differentiate of the relative components of obstruction. In patients with both dynamic LVOT obstruction and aortic stenosis, surgical myectomy and concurrent surgical aortic valve replacement is the optimal treatment strategy; combined alcohol septal ablation and transcatheter aortic valve replacement should only be considered for very high surgical risk patients.