October 2, 2017 — Medtronic recently announced a new post-market clinical study to evaluate its CoreValve Evolut Pro valve in everyday clinical practice. Studying patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis at an intermediate, high or extreme risk for open-heart surgery, the FORWARD PRO Clinical Study will evaluate longer-term performance (out to five years) of the next-generation self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system, which was recently approved for commercial use in Europe and United States.
The Evolut Pro valve, built off the Evolut R platform, is designed with an outer tissue wrap to further advance valve sealing performance. The biocompatible porcine pericardial tissue wrap, in addition to other design elements, is incorporated to address the occurrence of blood leaking through the sides of the valve. The first-ever data for the Evolut Pro valve, presented at the 2017 American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions (ACC.17), showed no moderate/severe paravalvular leak (0 percent), high rates of survival (98.3 percent) and a low rate of disabling stroke (1.7 percent) at 30 days.
The multi-center, prospective single-arm clinical study will enroll 600 patients across 35 sites in Europe and will evaluate safety, including all-cause mortality and all stroke at 30 days, and clinical performance, including valve hemodynamics and paravalvular regurgitation. Patients will be followed out to five years.
“We look forward to replicating the excellent clinical outcomes demonstrated by the Evolut Pro valve in a study designed to look at the valve’s longer-term real-world performance,” said Prof. Eberhard Grube, M.D., director of the Structural Heart Program at University Hospital in Bonn, Germany, and co-principal investigator of the FORWARD PRO Study. “The Evolut Pro has shown exceptional results for patients with severe aortic stenosis and we are excited to enroll our first patients into this rigorous study.”
Watch the VIDEO “TAVR Stands Equal to Surgical Valve Replacement,” an interview with Michael Reardon, M.D., from ACC.17.
For more information: www.medtronic.com
May 06, 2026 
