Society of Thoracic Surgeons and American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry (STS/ACC TVT Registry).

Purpose of the Registry

The TVT Registry was designed to support a national surveillance system to assess the characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of patients receiving transcutaneous valve therapies. Patient-level data are submitted by participating hospitals to The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and American College of Cardiology Foundation's (ACCF) joint TVT Registry. The purposes of the TVT Registry include: (i) collecting pertinent and standardized data elements from participating hospitals, health care providers and others that measure and assess the quality of care for patients receiving TVT; (ii) providing confidential periodic reports to participating hospitals, health care providers and others, to evaluate and improve the quality of care in these areas; and (iii) permitting and fostering appropriate research based upon the data collected by means of the TVT Registry.

The secondary aim of the TVT Registry is to serve as a scalable data infrastructure for post market studies.

Background and Significance

Transcatheter valve therapies are now emerging into clinical practice from the research phase in the United States. The first of several approaches to replacing the aortic valve without open-chest surgery has now become a reality. Other valve and delivery systems are expected to be approved in the upcoming years. An Expert Consensus Document on Transcatheter Valve Therapy has outlined the initial technology, targeted patient population, and the multidisciplinary heart team and specialized facilities needed. The document also proposes the establishment of a national registry of patients with valvular heart disease that can collect and analyze data as these new valve treatment options become available. Surveillance of device performance, monitoring of long-term outcomes, and performance of comparative effectiveness research are some of the proposed uses of the registry.