Objective:
Severe aortic stenosis leads to increased pulmonary arterial systolic pressure. A controversy still remains regarding the impact of persistent pulmonary hypertension (PHT) on prognosis of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We sought to investigate the impact of persistent PHT on 2-year all-cause mortality of patients with severe aortic stenosis following TAVI.
Methods:
Patients with severe and symptomatic aortic stenosis (effective orifice area [EOA]≤1 cm
2
) who were scheduled for TAVI with a self-expanding valve at our institution were prospectively enrolled. Prospectively collected echocardiographic data before and after TAVI were retrospectively analyzed in all patients. Pulmonary artery systolic pressure was estimated as the sum of the right ventricular to the right atrial gradient during systole and the right atrial pressure. PHT following TAVI was classified as absent if <35 mmHg and persistent if ≥35 mmHg. Primary clinical end-point was 2-year all-cause mortality defined according to the criteria proposed by the Valve Academic Research Consortium-2.
Results:
Hundred and forty patients (mean age: 82±9 years) were included in the study. The primary clinical end point occurred in 17 patients (12%) during a median follow-up period of 2 years. Mean pulmonary artery systolic pressure was reduced in all patients following TAVI (45±9 versus 41±6 mmHg, p<0.01). Mortality rate was higher in patients with persistent PHT compared to patients with normal pulmonary artery systolic pressure following TAVI (26% versus 14 %, p<0.01). Patients that reached the primary clinical end point had a higher post procedural mean systolic pulmonary pressure (43±9 versus 39±6 mmHg, p=0.02). In multivariate regression analysis, persistence of PHT (OR: 2.51, 95% CI: 1.109-7.224, p=0.01) was an independent predictor of long-term mortality.
Conclusions:
The persistence of pulmonary hypertension after TAVI is associated with long term mortality. Identifying the population that will clearly benefit from TAVI is still need to be validated by larger trials.
Coronary Artery Fistulae Discovered during Presentation of a Patient Having Heart Failure due to Severe Aortic Stenosis