Edwards’ Larry Wood discusses TAVR evolution, new clinical paradigms, and addressing treatment gaps

In this episode of Structural Heart Talks, Larry Wood, Corporate VP and Group President, Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement and Surgical Structural Heart at Edwards Lifesciences, discusses the transformative journey of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and the SAPIEN valve. Wood reflects on the innovation that enables minimally invasive heart valve replacement, which has become the standard of care for severe aortic stenosis and offers patients faster recovery and greater independence.

The conversation explores Edwards’ efforts to expand access to TAVR, emphasizing the importance of reducing undertreatment and addressing outdated clinical guidelines that delay intervention. Wood also highlights findings from the recent early TAVR study, which challenges long-standing paradigms and advocates for changes to the guidelines to allow earlier treatment of aortic stenosis before symptoms appear.

Tune in to the 2021 episode of DeviceTalks Weekly where Host, Tom Salemi visits with Larry Wood to discuss the “Complete History of the SAPIEN TAVR,” here: www.devicetalks.com/the-complete-history-of-the-sapien-tavr-from-pvts-emerging-idea-to-edwards-lifesciences-success/

Thank you to Confluent Medical Technologies for sponsoring this episode of Structural Heart Talks. To learn more about how Confluent Medical supports medical device companies, visit: www.confluentmedical.com.

Thank you for listening to the Structural Heart Talks podcast. Tune in and subscribe to Structural Heart Talks and the DeviceTalks Podcast Network wherever you get your podcasts and follow youtube.com/@DeviceTalks or the Structural Heart Talks on YouTube Podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. 

Chapters

• (00:00:00) - Structural Heart Talks: Early TAVR
• (00:01:31) - Confluent Medical: Taking a Nitinol Device From Prototype to
• (00:03:49) - Larry Wood on How He Found His Way to Medtech
• (00:06:15) - Bradley Sapien on the TAVR Story
• (00:07:15) - What is TAVR and its benefits for seniors?
• (00:10:31) - TAVR Therapy: The Technology
• (00:13:01) - Severe Aortic Stenosis: How to treat it
• (00:15:22) - How to manage Aortic Stenosis in the elderly?
• (00:17:32) - What's the Future of Nitinol in Neurovascular Devices
• (00:19:58) - Should we wait for symptoms before performing valve replacement?
• (00:23:01) - Transcatheter Heart Valve Replacement
• (00:31:36) - Tavr versus lung cancer
• (00:32:47) - TAVR Study vs. first trial
• (00:34:11) - Edwards Lifesciences: Structural Heart
• (00:36:04) - Structural Heart Talks