Redefining Cardiovascular Care: Innovations and Challenges in Minimally Invasive and Transcatheter Interventions

Advancements in cardiovascular care have significantly transformed treatment options for patients with a variety of cardiovascular diseases. In particular, minimally invasive surgical techniques and transcatheter interventions, such as transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), and innovative structural heart therapies, are now at the forefront, offering less invasive alternatives to traditional open surgery. These groundbreaking techniques have made it possible to treat patients who were previously deemed high-risk or inoperable, thereby expanding the scope and reach of cardiovascular care.

Despite these advancements, key gaps remain in procedural techniques, device technology, patient selection, and post-procedural management. There are ongoing debates concerning the optimal approaches for specific patient populations, the comparative efficacy of minimally invasive surgical versus interventional (catheter-based) procedures, and the best practices for integrating advanced imaging and follow-up care.

This Research Topic specifically seeks to attract contributions in two well-defined areas:

• Minimally invasive surgical treatment options: Articles may focus on surgical techniques employing smaller incisions, specialized instruments, and enhanced visualization to reduce surgical trauma. Examples include minimally invasive valve surgery, hybrid operative approaches, and robotic-assisted cardiac procedures.
• Catheter-based interventional procedures: Submissions may investigate purely percutaneous or transcatheter interventions, such as TAVR, PCI, mitral and tricuspid transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER and T-TEER) or replacement (TMVR and TTVR), left atrial appendage occlusion, and other device-based therapies.

We encourage manuscripts that:

• Directly compare minimally invasive surgical and transcatheter approaches
• Explore patient selection criteria, technical modifications, and outcome optimizations within either discipline
• Present novel solutions for intraoperative navigation, device deployment, or post-procedural care specific to minimally invasive or transcatheter techniques

Article categories of interest include:

• Clinical trials evaluating new devices or techniques in either minimally invasive or transcatheter procedures
• Comparative studies between surgical and catheter-based approaches
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses focusing on procedure-specific outcomes
• Prospective and retrospective cohort studies clarifying patient selection and real-world effectiveness
• Case reports, especially those describing first-in-human applications of new techniques or devices within the defined scope
• Expert opinion and state-of-the-art reviews addressing unresolved questions and future directions for either or both treatment modalities

Please note that articles outside of these foci, such as those solely related to traditional open cardiovascular surgery or non-invasive diagnostic imaging, will not be considered.

Through this targeted scope, the Research Topic aims to deliver comprehensive, high-impact insights that guide the ongoing evolution and optimization of minimally invasive and transcatheter cardiovascular treatments.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Clinical Trial
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Clinical Trial
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: cardiovascular interventions, minimally invasive procedures, transcatheter techniques, structural heart therapies, device technology, imaging guidance, post-procedural management

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.