Impact of right ventricular function on outcome of severe aortic stenosis patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

BACKGROUND: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction was shown to be associated with adverse outcomes in a variety of cardiac patients and is considered a risk factor for adverse outcome according to the updated Valve Academic Research Consortium criteria. OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to assess the impact of RV function at baseline on 1-year mortality among patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). METHODS: All patients with severe AS treated with TAVR from May 2007 to March 2015 at our center were included in the present study, and baseline and procedural characteristics were recorded for each patient. The patients were categorized according to RV function at baseline as assessed by current guidelines, and a comparison of mortality rates up to 1 year was performed. RESULTS: Among 650 patients, 606 had adequate echocardiogram quality and 146 (24%) had RV dysfunction. There were significant differences between the 2 groups, as patients with RV dysfunction were younger (81±9 vs 84±7 years, P=.01) and were more likely to be male (65% vs 42%, P<.001). In addition, patients with RV dysfunction had higher rates of prior myocardial infarction (26% vs 16%, P=.02) and atrial fibrillation (51% vs 39%, P=.02). Echocardiographic parameters demonstrated higher rates of left ventricular ejection fraction <40% (40% vs 18%, P<.001), tricuspid regurgitation above moderate (16% vs 9%, P=.04), and higher pulmonary artery systolic pressure (50±17 vs 44±16 mm Hg, P<.001) among patients with severe AS and RV dysfunction compared with patients with normal RV function. Despite the unfavorable cardiac function, patients with severe AS undergoing TAVR have similar functional class (P=.22) and mortality rates at 1year (27% vs 23%, log-rank P=.45). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with severe AS and RV dysfunction have similar 1-year mortality and functional class after TAVR to patients with normal RV function. The presence of RV dysfunction does not correlate with outcome in patients with severe AS.

Impact of Baseline Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation.

We sought to assess the impact of diastolic dysfunction (DD) grade, as per the 2016 American Society of Echocardiography/European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging guidelines, on survival of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We included consecutive patients with severe AS who underwent TAVI in our institution. DD grading was determined retrospectively according to the 2016 ASE DD guidelines and categorized to grade I-III and indeterminate grade I-II DD. Comparison of 1-year survival according to DD grade was performed by Kaplan-Meier analysis, and evaluation of DD at 1 year was performed in a subset of patients. Among 606 TAVI patients, 394 (65%) had sufficient data for DD grading. Seventy-seven (20%) had grade I DD, 191 (48%) had grade II, 60 (15%) had grade III, and 66 (17%) had an indeterminate grade between I and II. Baseline characteristics indicate higher rates of atrial fibrillation, brain natriuretic peptide level, pulmonary artery systolic pressure, and indexed left ventricular mass as DD grade increases (all p ≤0.01). In conclusion, comparison of 1-year survival revealed a higher rate of mortality in patients with grade III DD that remained statistically significant following adjustment in a multivariate Cox proportional hazard model. DD grade after TAVI improved in patients with grades II and III. Severe AS patients with grade III DD have higher risk for 1-year mortality after TAVI compared with milder degrees of DD. Further research is warranted to explore a potential benefit for aortic valve therapy at an earlier stage of the disease process.