What the heart team is actually assessing
TAVI, also called TAVR, replaces the aortic valve using a catheter-based procedure. That single sentence hides a large amount of assessment. A heart team is not checking whether you have heard of TAVI. It is asking whether a catheter-based approach is appropriate for your particular valve, your particular anatomy and your particular overall condition, and whether the expected balance of benefit and risk is acceptable.
That means the review is comparative. The team is weighing a transcatheter route against surgical aortic valve replacement, against continued medical management, or against further observation. The answer depends on factors such as valve structure and function, the size and shape of the aortic annulus and surrounding structures, the condition of the coronary arteries, lung function, kidney function, frailty and other coexisting conditions. No single report answers all of that.
This is why a TAVI review is a team decision rather than one clinician's opinion. Cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, imaging specialists and often anaesthetists contribute. For an overseas patient, the practical consequence is that the quality and completeness of the information you send matters as much as the speed with which you send it.
Which existing records usually help clarify the picture
You do not need to assemble a perfect archive before making contact. A short summary of the diagnosis and your main question is enough to begin. After that, the most useful documents are the ones that already exist from your own cardiology workup.
The core items are usually the echocardiography reports and, where available, the image data rather than only the written conclusion. A transthoracic echocardiogram gives valve gradients, valve area estimates and ventricular function. A transoesophageal echocardiogram, if one has been done, can add detail on valve morphology and surrounding structures. A cardiac CT is often central to TAVI planning because it informs annulus sizing, access route assessment and coronary height measurement. Coronary angiography or a recent CT coronary angiogram helps show whether significant coronary disease is present and whether it needs attention before or during the procedure.
Beyond the heart itself, the team will want to understand your general condition. Recent blood tests, kidney function, lung function tests if available, a list of current medicines with doses, and a clear summary of other diagnoses all help. So does a short note on your symptoms: what you can and cannot do, what has changed recently, and what you have already been told.
One practical point: reports written in a language the receiving team cannot read are of limited use. Ask whether your hospital can provide English-language reports or a translated summary. If not, a professional translation of the key reports is usually more useful than a machine translation of the whole file.
What can be clarified remotely, and what cannot
A records-based review can clarify a great deal. A specialist can often tell you whether the information you have is broadly consistent with a TAVI assessment, what additional imaging or tests would be needed, and whether there are obvious features that would make a transcatheter approach more or less likely to be considered. They can also identify gaps in your file and explain what those gaps mean for planning.
What a remote review cannot do is confirm suitability. Final decisions depend on images being reviewed at full resolution, on measurements taken in a standardised way, and often on examinations and tests that have not yet been done. A remote opinion is a starting point for planning, not a substitute for the heart team's own assessment. It also cannot confirm device availability, scheduling or hospital acceptance.
This distinction matters for how you plan. If a remote review suggests TAVI is worth pursuing, that is useful information. It is not a booking. The next step is usually to arrange for the hospital's own team to review the full imaging and decide what further assessment is needed.
Organising the gaps without ordering tests yourself
When records are incomplete, the temptation is to start arranging tests before anyone has asked for them. That is usually the wrong order. Different hospitals and different heart teams have different protocols, and a test done to the wrong specification may need to be repeated.
A better approach is to make a simple list of what you have and what you do not have, then ask the receiving team which items they need. For example, if you have an echocardiogram report but not the image files, ask whether the images are needed. If your cardiac CT was done some time ago, ask whether it is still relevant or whether a new one would be required. If you have never had a CT, that is a question for the team, not a decision to make on your own.
The same applies to blood tests, lung function and coronary assessment. Ask what the team wants, in what format, and by when. This avoids unnecessary duplication and keeps the focus on the information that will actually change the decision.
It also helps to be honest about what is missing. A file that clearly states what has not been done is more useful than one that implies completeness. The team can then tell you what matters and what does not.
Questions that change the next step
The answers to a small number of questions usually determine whether you are planning a trip, gathering more records, or considering a different route altogether. It is worth asking them directly.
First, does the team consider the existing imaging sufficient for a preliminary review, or do they need additional studies before they can comment? Second, if more imaging is needed, can it be done locally to a specification the team accepts, or would they prefer it done at their hospital? Third, what is the realistic sequence: records review first, then a decision on travel, or travel first and assessment on arrival? Fourth, who will coordinate the different specialists, and how will you receive the team's conclusion?
These are administrative and clinical questions at the same time. The answers tell you whether you are close to a decision or still at the beginning of the assessment process. They also help you avoid booking travel before the clinical picture is clear.
Preparing the file and the practical next step
A well-organised file saves time. Keep a one-page summary at the front: your diagnosis, your main symptoms, your current medicines, and your specific question. Then attach the reports in a logical order, with the most recent first. Label each document clearly with its date and type. If you have image files, note what they contain and how they can be shared.
For an initial enquiry, you do not need to send everything at once. A brief summary is enough to start. The team can then tell you what else would be useful. This is a free initial case review, not a clinical opinion, and it does not commit you to any service.
The heart team at the treating hospital remains the only group that can confirm whether TAVI is suitable for you, which device and approach might be considered, and what the plan should be. Your job is to make sure they have the information they need to make that decision well.
Sources & scope of this guide
References and official service information relevant to this guide.
This is general planning information and has not been individually reviewed by a doctor. Medical decisions and personal treatment advice come from your treating clinicians.