[TAVI: History and perspectives]

Nearly 20 years have passed from the concept to clinical development of percutaneous aortic valve replacement, starting from an idea considered "stupid" of Professor Alain Cribier in Rouen. After a first phase of compassionate implantation, large randomized trials PARTNER and COREVALVE US have allowed TAVI to impose itself in the European and American recommendations in patients inoperable or considered with high surgical risk. Next European recommendations on the management of valvular heart diseases expected in 2017 should take into account the positive results observed in intermediate risk patients in the PARTNER 2 and SURTAVI studies, recently adopted in the US recommendations. Randomized trials in "all coming" patients are already on their way, and the future of TAVI is to be the reference treatment for a vast majority of patients with aortic stenosis.