Aorto-right ventricular fistula following percutaneous transcatheter aortic valve replacement: Case report and literature review

Abstract

An 88-year-old woman with a prior history of aortic stenosis and history of valvuloplasty presented with worsening symptoms of heart failure and dizziness. She underwent successful transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) without complications. Follow-up echocardiograms revealed a small fistula connecting aorta to the right ventricle. The patient was initially asymptomatic but 3 months later developed overload of the right ventricle and heart failure and chose to continue medical therapy. She died of progressive heart failure at 9 months from onset of fistula. Aorto-right ventricular fistula is a rare complication of TAVR with only four cases reported in literature thus far.

Keywords

• Aorto-right ventricular fistula
• heart failure
• transcatheter aortic valve replacement
• transcatheter aortic valve replacement complications