Balloon aortic valvuloplasty in high risk aortic stenosis patients with left ventricular ejection fractions <20%.

OBJECTIVES: To determine outcomes following balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) in aortic stenosis (AS) patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <20%. BACKGROUND: Severe AS patients with a LVEF <20% are excluded from United States (U.S.) transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) trials and often surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR). The role for BAV to enhance LVEF is unclear. METHODS: Our BAV database of 270 consecutive patients extending from 2005 through 2010 was queried for a preoperative LVEF <20%. Demographics, echocardiograms, procedural technique, and outcomes were analyzed. Pre- and postoperative echocardiograms were used to determine improvement in aortic valve area (AVA) and LVEF. RESULTS: Sixteen patients were identified with a median age of 82 years. The composite Society of Thoracic Surgeons' (STS) mortality risk was 16.4%. The median preoperative AVA and LVEF were 0.60 cm(2) and 16%, respectively, and postoperative AVA and LVEF were 0.77 cm(2) and LVEF 19%, respectively. About 15 of the 16 patients had postoperative echocardiograms available for comparison. And 7 of these 15 (47%) demonstrated improvement in LVEF to ≥20% (median LVEF 25%). The absence of coronary disease and improvement in AVA of ≥0.2 cm(2) was associated with postoperative LVEF of ≥20%. Procedural mortality was 0%. The 30-day, 6-month, and 1-year survival was 69%, 56%, and 29%. STS's mortality risk score ≥15% was associated with short-term mortality. CONCLUSION: With appropriate technique, BAV can be reasonably safe in patients with LVEF <20%. Roughly half of these patients demonstrated improvement in LVEF to ≥20%.

Comparison of outcomes in high-risk patients>70 years of age with aortic valvuloplasty and percutaneous coronary intervention versus aortic valvuloplasty alone.

The goal of this study was to compare outcomes of combined balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) plus percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with BAV alone in a surgically high risk, older (>70 years) population with both aortic stenosis (AS) and coronary artery disease (CAD). The medical records, coronary angiograms, and procedural reports of 100 consecutive patients who underwent BAV and coronary angiography at our institution from July 2003 to November 2006 were reviewed. Seventeen patients (mean age 86.2+/-6.4 years) underwent combined (nonstaged) BAV and PCI with a calculated Society of Thoracic Surgery risk score of 13.5%+/-6.7; 13 of these underwent coronary stenting before BAV and 4 after BAV. All 17 patients were successfully treated with this combined strategy. The incidence of periprocedural mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke was zero. An additional 25 patients (mean age 85.9+/-6.9) with CAD were identified who underwent BAV alone with a Society of Thoracic Surgery risk score of 12.6+/-5.7%. PCI in these patients was avoided primarily because of greater lesion complexity or a perceived low probability of symptomatic benefit. There was 1 procedural death, no myocardial infarction, and 1 postprocedural stroke in these 25 patients. The procedural duration and hospital length of stay for the combined BAV and PCI group was 98.8+/-17.6 minutes and 4.1+/-2.8 days, respectively, and for the BAV only group was 86.2+/-27.3 minutes and 3.3+/-2.1 days, respectively. In conclusion, with appropriate selection, BAV plus PCI was safely performed in this retrospective series of elderly, high-risk patients with severe AS and CAD.