Edwards, Medtronic heart valve systems prove worth in low-risk patients -studies

Both companies already have approvals for their TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) systems for use in patients too frail to endure surgery and those deemed at intermediate risk.An estimated 165,000 low-risk patients suffer from severe aortic stenosis each year in the United States, Western Europe and Japan, a condition that can lead to heart failure in as little as two years, Medtronic said.With TAVR, the replacement heart valve is threaded into place through an artery via catheter, s