Schneider, David J.

Importance In patients with severe aortic valve stenosis at intermediate surgical risk, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with a self-expanding supra-annular valve was noninferior to surgery for all-cause mortality or disabling stroke at 2 years. Comparisons of longer-term clinical and hemodynamic outcomes in these patients are limited. Objective To report prespecified secondary 5-year outcomes from the Symptomatic Aortic Stenosis in Intermediate Risk Subjects Who Need Aortic Valve Replacement (SURTAVI) randomized clinical trial. Design, Setting, and Participants SURTAVI is a prospective randomized, unblinded clinical trial. Randomization was stratified by investigational site and need for revascularization determined by the local heart teams. Patients with severe aortic valve stenosis deemed to be at intermediate risk of 30-day surgical mortality were enrolled at 87 centers from June 19, 2012, to June 30, 2016, in Europe and North America. Analysis took place between August and October 2021. Intervention Patients were randomized to TAVR with a self-expanding, supra-annular transcatheter or a surgical bioprosthesis. Main Outcomes and Measures The prespecified secondary end points of death or disabling stroke and other adverse events and hemodynamic findings at 5 years. An independent clinical event committee adjudicated all serious adverse events and an independent echocardiographic core laboratory evaluated all echocardiograms at 5 years. Results A total of 1660 individuals underwent an attempted TAVR (n = 864) or surgical (n = 796) procedure. The mean (SD) age was 79.8 (6.2) years, 724 (43.6%) were female, and the mean (SD) Society of Thoracic Surgery Predicted Risk of Mortality score was 4.5% (1.6%). At 5 years, the rates of death or disabling stroke were similar (TAVR, 31.3% vs surgery, 30.8%; hazard ratio, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.85-1.22]; P = .85). Transprosthetic gradients remained lower (mean [SD], 8.6 [5.5] mm Hg vs 11.2 [6.0] mm Hg; P < .001) and aortic valve areas were higher (mean [SD], 2.2 [0.7] cm 2 vs 1.8 [0.6] cm 2 ; P < .001) with TAVR vs surgery. More patients had moderate/severe paravalvular leak with TAVR than surgery (11 [3.0%] vs 2 [0.7%]; risk difference, 2.37% [95% CI, 0.17%- 4.85%]; P = .05). New pacemaker implantation rates were higher for TAVR than surgery at 5 years (289 [39.1%] vs 94 [15.1%]; hazard ratio, 3.30 [95% CI, 2.61-4.17]; log-rank P < .001), as were valve reintervention rates (27 [3.5%] vs 11 [1.9%]; hazard ratio, 2.21 [95% CI, 1.10-4.45]; log-rank P = .02), although between 2 and 5 years only 6 patients who underwent TAVR and 7 who underwent surgery required a reintervention. Conclusions and Relevance Among intermediate-risk patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis, major clinical outcomes at 5 years were similar for TAVR and surgery. TAVR was associated with superior hemodynamic valve performance but also with more paravalvular leak and valve reinterventions.

Background— Effects were compared in patients in the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) trial of 2 mechanistically different strategies for treatment of hyperglycemia, insulin-sensitizing and insulin-providing strategies, on biomarker profiles reflecting the balance between fibrinolysis and thrombosis and the intensity of inflammation implicated in diabetic vasculopathy. Methods and Results— A total of 2368 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and clinically stable, angiographically documented coronary artery disease were randomized to treatment with 1 of the 2 strategies and followed for an average of 5 years. Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 antigen and activity, tissue plasminogen activator antigen, fibrinogen, D-dimer, C-reactive protein, insulin, and hemoglobin A 1c were assayed in blood samples acquired at baseline and at 12 regular intervals throughout the follow-up interval. Higher baseline D-dimer, fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein portended a poor prognosis in patients in both groups. In contrast to the insulin-providing strategy, the insulin-sensitizing strategy led to (1) lower plasma insulin; (2) lower plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 antigen and activity and lower tissue plasminogen activator antigen (known to track with plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1); and (3) lower C-reactive protein and fibrinogen at all intervals after baseline ( P <0.001 for each). Conclusions— The insulin-sensitizing treatment strategy led to changes in biomarker profiles indicative of decreased insulin resistance, an altered balance between thrombosis and fibrinolysis favoring fibrinolysis, and diminished intensity of the systemic inflammatory state, factors that have been associated with cardiovascular risk. Clinical Trial Registration— http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT00006305.