Geripal-podcast

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has revolutionized the treatment of valvular heart disease for patients with severe aortic stenosis, a condition that affects one in ten adults older than the age of 80.  The rates of TAVR have also risen dramatically in the last decade. In 2019, the number of TAVRs exceeded surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in the US for the first time.    On today’s podcast we talk with two amazing cardiologists and researchers - Gwen Bernacki and Ashok Krishnaswami - about TAVRs in the elderly, including what it is, who gets it, and what the outcomes and complications look like after the procedure.    We also discuss Gwen and Ashok’s mixed-method study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) where they interviewed TAVR coordinators across California and Washington State about how code status is managed within their programs, and compared programs according to their policies to assess differences in outcomes.  What they found was fascinating: Most progr