Editorialby guest on May 11, 2018 http://circimaging.ahajournals.org/ Downloaded from 2 O'Gara BP, Arterial Load, and Survival After TAVR and greater longevity could have been confounded. 12 A single blood pressure determination in elderly patients 30 days after TAVR may not provide enough information from which to draw firm conclusions on causality.The current study's observations on the differential effects of total, pulsatile, and resistive arterial loads, and their interactions with SBP, are important reminders of the complex ventricular-valvular-arterial interactions that ensue in an elderly, predominantly hypertensive patient cohort after relief of aortic valve obstruction. [13][14][15] The deleterious effects of increased arterial stiffness and pulsatile load in this population are vastly underappreciated although likely not remediable with medical therapy in advanced age.Blood pressure management in patients with AS can be challenging for clinicians and patients. A reluctance to reduce preload or arterial resistance for fear of precipitating hypotension in the setting of a fixed cardiac output usually dominates the clinical picture despite the known long-term deleterious consequences of elevated impedances in series. Low diastolic blood pressure levels (<70 mm Hg) may be particularly hazardous in the context of reduced coronary flow reserve, especially under conditions of increased myocardial oxygen demand. High diastolic blood pressure levels (>90 mm Hg), on the contrary, are consistently associated with adverse outcomes across a range of cardiovascular conditions, including AS. 16 International practice guidelines recommend treatment for hypertension in patients with AS. 17,18 Data from the SEAS trial (Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis) describe a J-shaped relationship between blood pressure and outcomes and suggest that a target blood pressure of 130 to 139/70 to 90 be considered for patients with asymptomatic mild-to-moderate AS. 16 The optimal range for systemic blood pressure in patients with severe AS, however, has not been established. The picture is further clouded by individual variation in dose-response relationships, polypharmacy, drug side effects, drug-drug interactions, and patient comorbidities.Lindman et al 8 have redrawn the clinician's attention to the evaluation and management of blood pressure in elderly, prohibitive-, or high-surgical risk patients after TAVR. Their findings suggest that lower SBP may be a marker for reduced survival in this cohort and may best be avoided if possible and as circumstances and drug choices allow. Other studies have shown that SBP increases in ≈50% of patients after TAVR possibly in relation to higher postprocedural stroke volume and cardiac output, 13 but more likely as a consequence of stiffer (less compliant) vascular behavior that is unmasked by the relief of the upstream valvular obstruction.14 Higher SBP may be a good thing, but apparently not when it is accompanied by signs of reduced vascular compliance. 8,14 Understanding the fac...