Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation: What has Happened and What is Yet to Come

In April 2002, the first transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) was performed in humans, still as an experimental procedure, in a patient with aortic stenosis and cardiogenic shock, unable to undergo surgical intervention, with this compassionate procedure being his only possibility to survive. To get to this moment, much effort had already been taken into developing prototypes for almost 20 years previous, but probably Dr. Alain Cribier already had the idea, at that time of the first implant, of the revolution to come.

After 21 years of the first case, TAVI has now come of age. Today, it is part of the routine of clinical cardiologists, who have come to trust it as a real alternative to conventional surgical treatment. TAVI has revolutionized how we treat the most prevalent valve disease in developed countries, affecting up to 7% of the population over 65.

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