VIDEO: Embolic protection device shows promise for protection against stroke after TAVR

WASHINGTON — In this video, Vinod H. Thourani, MD, of Emory University in Atlanta, discusses the effort to decrease stroke after transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedures using an embolic protection device (Sentinel Cerebral Protection System, Claret Medical).

According to Thourani, one of the largest concerns for a doctor following TAVR is the occurrence of stroke after the procedure. In the SENTINEL trial, presented at TCT 2016, approximately 99% of patients who underwent TAVR with the embolic protection device had debris that could have traveled to the brain. Possibly due to small sample size, he said, there was no change in neurocognitive function within either the device arm or the control arm.

“Although there is a large amount of capture, we’re not seeing some statistical differences between control and devices.” Thourani, an investigator on the study, said. “Most likely because the power was a little bit on the small side to give us that statistical difference.”

Additionally, the device was associated with a decline in brain lesion volume, but the decrease was not statistically significant, he said.

The results may “help us design and implement a variety of adjunctive therapies to decrease one of the most common and devastating morbidities associated with TAVR, that's a stroke,” Thourani said.