POL-TAVI – Polish Registry of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation – simple tool, great value, rationale and design

Aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common valvular heart disease in adults in Europe and North America. Management of AS patients depends on accurate diagnosis of the cause and stage of the disease process: the first and definitive therapeutic choice for a growing number of elderly patients with symptomatic AS is surgical treatment. In patients not eligible for surgery, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) constitutes a safe and effective alternative. As an innovative, costly method of treatment, it requires however careful monitoring of its course, documenting its early and long-term results, and assessment of its safety and medical-economic cost-effectiveness. A medical registry seems to be an excellent tool to perform such analysis. The aim of this paper is to present the design and rationale for creation of the first National Cardiac-Cardiac Surgical Registry of Percutaneous Aortic Valve Treatment POL-TAVI, to describe its genesis and to highlight its key assumptions and aims. Despite its recent beginnings, the POL-TAVI Registry has already demonstrated its value and usability in monitoring and assessment of TAVI procedures, leading to further improvement and development of this new method in Poland. It constitutes an important and valuable tool for patients, the medical community and the payer.