Optimal mode of aortic valve replacement in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-which helps patients gain more benefit?

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (CODP) is highly prevalent in patients with severe aortic stenosis who are candidates for aortic valve replacement. As patients with CODP is generally characterized as a high-risk population for surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is preferred for these patients because it is considered less invasive. Therefore, there is often a relatively high proportion of COPD patients in large TAVR registries, ranging from 14% to 43% (1). However, whether COPD patients benefit more from TAVR than SAVR remain to be demonstrated by data from large sample size.