Foreword

Article Outline

• Copyright

The field of transcatheter valve therapy is relatively new but its development and progress is proceeding at a very fast pace. Percutaneous valve devices for aortic valve replacement have been approved for clinical use in Europe. There are 2 randomized trials in progress and at present they have a follow-up of about 2 years but they are not published. Entry into the 2 new trials is now closed and 5-year follow-up data and its publication should be available in the next 3 years.

An essential and important component related to these therapies is the role of imaging before, during, and post procedure. The group at the Cleveland Clinic has the skill, knowledge, and experience with these imaging techniques. They have put together a comprehensive and superior monograph on this topic that has 31 figures.

The Editorial Board and I are grateful to Drs. Kapadia, Schoenhagen, Stewart, and Tuzcu for this superior manuscript. We also thank Professor Jeroen Bax^⁎ for his important and valuable comments.

• ⁎ Jeroen Bax, MD, is Professor of Cardiology, the Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands.