{"id":6399,"date":"2026-01-10T20:43:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T20:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/?page_id=6399"},"modified":"2026-01-14T01:17:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T01:17:45","slug":"tavr-aortic-regurgitation-aakriti-gupta-md","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/tavr-aortic-regurgitation-aakriti-gupta-md\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask The Expert: TAVR For Aortic Valve Regurgitation with Dr. Aakriti Gupta"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Patients with aortic regurgitation have been waiting a long time for less-invasive treatment options. Adam Pick, the founder of HeartValveSurgery.com, recently interviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/interventional-cardiologist\/dr-Aakriti-Gupta-Los+Angeles-California.php\">Dr. Aakriti Gupta<\/a>, a leading interventional cardiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, to discuss a significant update for patients with leaking aortic valves.<\/p>\n<p>Given new clinical trial research, Dr. Gupta shared that while surgery is still the only FDA-approved treatment for moderate-to-severe or severe aortic regurgitation today, the field is moving quickly and transcatheter therapy may soon be a realistic option for many patients. Here are the highlights from our discussion with Dr. Gupta.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FUfCEs1gsmY?rel=0&amp;si=iMPs6mrLcGCQYEbH\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Why TAVR Works Well for Aortic Stenosis<\/h2>\n<p>Dr. Gupta explained that traditional TAVR has been incredibly successful in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/aortic-stenosis-valve-heart-narrowing.php\">aortic stenosis<\/a> for a simple mechanical reason: stenotic valves often have calcium, and that calcium helps anchor a transcatheter valve when it\u2019s deployed. In other words, the device has something firm to \u201cgrab onto,\u201d improving stability and reducing the chance of unwanted movement after placement.<\/p>\n<p>As Dr. Gupta shared, \u201cI think it is important first for patients to understand why TAVR works in aortic stenosis, and the major reason is that when you develop calcium in your aortic valve, that&#8217;s when it tightens enough and it doesn&#8217;t, you know, push the blood forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>But&#8230; What About TAVR for Aortic Regurgitation?<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/aortic-regurgitation\/\">Aortic regurgitation<\/a> is a different problem. Many aortic regurgitation patients don\u2019t have much calcium on the valve. Without that calcium, the commercially available TAVR valves designed for stenosis may not anchor as securely, which can lead to issues like valve movement or residual leakage\u2014two outcomes doctors work hard to avoid. That lack of natural \u201cscaffolding\u201d is one of the biggest reasons aortic regurgitation has historically been much harder to treat with standard TAVR technology.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6414 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/..\/Images\/aortic-regurgitation-gupta-aakriti-md.jpg\" alt=\"Aortic Valve Regurgitation\" width=\"650\" height=\"364\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As Dr. Gupta shared, \u201cThe contrast is in aortic regurgitation where majority of the patients don&#8217;t have any calcium, and as such, the same commercially available TAVR valves that we are right now using for aortic stenosis may not do so well in aortic regurgitation because there&#8217;s no calcium anchoring them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Big Update: A Valve Designed Specifically for Aortic Regurgitation<\/h2>\n<p>Dr. Gupta highlighted the encouraging results from the ALIGN-AR Trial, published in The Lancet, which evaluated the Trilogy Valve System, a new TAVR device engineered specifically for aortic regurgitation in which there is little to no calcium present.\u00a0 The Trilogy Valve System is made by JenaValve.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/Images\/jenavalve-tavr-aortic-regurgitation.jpg\" alt=\"JenaValve (TAVR for Aortic Regurgitation)\" width=\"296\" height=\"353\" \/><br \/>\nJenaValve (TAVR for Aortic Regurgitation)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the original TAVR valves for aortic stenosis, which relies on calcium for anchoring, this system clips directly onto the native aortic valve leaflets. Dr. Gupta shared that the trial results showed the approach was safe, durable, and that patients felt better after the Trilogy is implanted. Additionally, the heart muscle showed favorable remodeling after reducing the leakage.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Gupta shared, \u201cIt clips onto the leaflets and it performs really well. What we showed in the trial is that it is safe. It is durable and patients feel great. And the heart valve. The heart muscle actually remodels favorably after we reduce leakage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What Does This Mean for Patients?<\/h2>\n<p>As of this conversation, Dr. Gupta noted that the FDA-approved therapy for aortic regurgitation is still surgery. However, patients evaluated at major valve centers with active research programs may be able to access transcatheter options through clinical trials (including ALIGN-AR and ARTIST) right now.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-6416 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/..\/Images\/align-ar-clinical-trial-tavr.jpg\" alt=\"Align AR Clinical Trials with TAVR\" width=\"650\" height=\"362\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve been diagnosed with moderate-to-severe or severe AR, here are a few practical questions this discussion naturally raises:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How severe is my regurgitation\u2014and is my heart starting to enlarge or weaken?<\/li>\n<li>Am I a surgical candidate, and if so, what type of valve strategy fits my age\/lifestyle?<\/li>\n<li>Do I qualify for any AR-focused TAVR clinical trials (like ALIGN-AR or ARTIST)?<\/li>\n<li>Should I be evaluated at a high-volume valve center for a second opinion?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The Future of TAVR for Aortic Regurgitation<\/h2>\n<p>Dr. Gupta\u2019s outlook is optimistic for TAVR in patients with leaking aortic valve. \u00a0She believes aortic regurgitation care may be approaching a minimally invasive \u201crevolution\u201d similar to the one that transformed aortic stenosis treatment, potentially making TAVR the dominant therapy in the years ahead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe treatment for aortic regurgitation is probably going to see the same revolution as was seen with aortic stenosis,\u201d stated Dr. Gupta. If I had a crystal ball five years from now, the predominant therapy is going to be TAVR for aortic regurgitation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Related Links:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/interventional-cardiologist\/dr-Aakriti-Gupta-Los+Angeles-California.php\">See Dr. Aakriti Gupta&#8217;s Interactive Cardiologist Profile<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/hospital\/cedars-sinai-heart-institute\">Explore Cedars-Sinai&#8217;s Heart Valve Microsite<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Keep on tickin!<br \/>\nAdam<\/p>\n<p>P.S. For the deaf and hard-of-hearing members of our community, a written transcript of the video interview with Dr. Gupta is provided below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"cms.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"class_list":["post-6399","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-aortic-valve-replacement"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6399"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6428,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6399\/revisions\/6428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}