Paravalvular Leak (PVL) Severity Score Calculator

Paravalvular Leak (PVL) Severity Score: Rationale, Calculations, and Clinical Use This tool consolidates validated catheter-based hemodynamic indices to grade PVL severity immediately after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). The core metric is the Aortic Regurgitation Index (ARI), defined as ((DBP − LVEDP) / SBP) × 100. Lower values imply greater diastolic run-off into the LV and more severe PVL.

In the seminal work, ARI independently predicted 1-year mortality and complemented echo/angiography; ARI < 25 flagged higher risk. Complementary indices refine risk stratification: the Diastolic Delta (DD) (DBP − LVEDP) with a pragmatic threshold of ≤ 18 mmHg; the heart-rate adjusted DD (HR-DD) calculated as (DD/HR) × 80 with a threshold < 25; and the ARI ratio (post-/pre-deployment ARI), where < 0.60 portends adverse outcomes and predicts the need for post-dilation. When available, the Time-Integrated AR Index (TIARI)—(Diastolic pressure–time integral ÷ LV systolic pressure–time integral) × 100—captures the area between aortic and LV diastolic curves and has shown incremental prognostic and intraprocedural guidance value; < 80 aligns with ≥mild AR on invasive validation.

The calculator reports each index and a conservative composite hemodynamic class (None–Mild, Moderate, Severe) to aid intraprocedural decisions. Final management should integrate prosthesis type and depth, annular eccentricity/calcification, jet location and multiplicity, and multimodality imaging (TEE, quantitative angiography/videodensitometry). Hemodynamic thresholds were derived in mixed-generation valve cohorts; contemporary devices may shift prevalence but the cut-offs remain useful for real-time physiology-guided optimization.