Announcement
The CCS to Update Wait Time Benchmarks for TAVI
February 20, 2026
This Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day, we are pleased to share that the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) Heart Valve Disease Working Group will be updating wait time benchmarks for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Intervention (TAVI). Wait time benchmarks define the medically acceptable time that patients could wait to receive care. Defining wait times has shown numerous benefits, and they serve to:
- Guide decision-making
- Support and catalyze evidence-informed improvements
- Enhance healthcare system efficiency and effectiveness
- Support equitable access to care
- Facilitate accountability for achieving acceptable wait times
These benefits have been validated by CCS members and provincial/territorial health officials who refer to wait time benchmarks to guide planning, performance measurement, and system improvement.
Canada has prior experience with setting these healthcare targets. In the mid-2000s, first ministers agreed to establish benchmarks for medically acceptable wait times. These targets drove new investments and strategies to manage waitlists, resulting in a significant reduction in wait times for priority procedures.
Notably, CCS established wait time benchmarks for TAVI in 2016 and again in 2019. Since this time, the volume of procedures in Canada has grown substantially.
“With the changes in procedural volumes of TAVI, it is timely and important for CCS to update and establish new benchmarks for these life-saving procedures.” – Dr. Jessica Forcillo, Chair, CCS Heart Valve Disease working group
Additionally, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) continues to highlight wait times (relative to benchmarks) for priority procedures (e.g., cancer surgeries, hip and knee replacements), what contributes to them, and what is being done to reduce them. It remains a helpful indicator of health system performance and a tool for healthcare planning. Benchmarks for TAVI have not been updated and are not currently reported upon by CIHI.
“Establishing these cardiovascular wait time benchmarks will become an important component of the CCS advocacy strategy and can contribute to our efforts to support access to care.” – Dr. Harindra Wijeysundera, Chair of the CCS Advocacy Committee.
Reducing wait times for TAVI has shown significant improvement in health outcomes for patients. i More specifically, wait time reductions corresponded with decreased wait-list mortality, fewer wait-list hospitalizations, and a lower rate of the higher-risk urgent TAVI (p. 6). Importantly, these outcomes are major drivers of healthcare costs.
“This important work holds the potential to shape care quality, optimize healthcare system performance, and support the heart health of all Canadians for years to come.” – Dr. Janine Eckstein, Vice-Chair, CCS Heart Valve Disease Working Group.
i Peel JK, Neves Miranda R, Naimark D, Woodward G, Mamas MA, Madan M, Wijeysundera HC. Financial incentives for transcatheter aortic valve implantation in Ontario, Canada: a costutility analysis. J Am Heart Assoc. 2022;11(8):e025085. doi:10.1161/JAHA.121.025085. [europepmc.org]