1-Year Outcomes Following Transfemoral Transseptal Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement

A significant number of patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) are not suitable for either surgical or transcatheter edge-to-edge repair because of high surgical risk or inappropriate mitral valve anatomy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the HighLife Trans-Septal Mitral Valve Replacement (TSMVR) system in patients with symptomatic MR and high surgical risk. This prospective, multicenter, nonrandomized feasibility study evaluated the safety and performance of the HighLife TSMVR system in patients with moderate to severe or severe symptomatic MR during 1-year follow-up. Echocardiographic data were assessed at an independent core laboratory. Thirty patients (mean age 75.6 years, 27% women, median Society of Thoracic Surgeons score 5.5%) with severe MR (90% with secondary MR, median left ventricular ejection fraction 43%) were treated at 13 sites. In 27 of the 30 patients, the HighLife TSMVR system was implanted successfully (technical success rate 90%). Device success at 30 days was 83%. After 1 year, 5 patients (17%) had died. None of the patients who underwent implantation required mitral valve reintervention. All patients who underwent implantation had no or trace (78%) or mild (22%) MR, the mean gradient of the HighLife valve was 5.1 mm Hg, and there were no signs of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (mean gradient 2.0 mm Hg). One-year results from the HighLife TSMVR feasibility study demonstrate a high technical success rate, excellent valve function, no left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and no need for mitral valve reintervention. Additional patient outcomes and longer follow-up are needed to confirm these findings. (Expanded Study of the HighLife 28mm Trans-Septal Trans-Catheter Mitral Valve in Patients With Moderate-Severe or Severe Mitral Regurgitation and at High Surgical Risk; NCT04029363).