Impact of transcatheter aortic valve implantation in symptomatic patients with very severe aortic stenosis

OBJECTIVE
Aortic stenosis (AS) is a progressive disease, and valve replacement—the only treatment option—should be performed after it becomes symptomatic and before irreversible myocardial damages develop. Surgical valve replacement is recommended in patients with very severe AS (VSAS), even if they are asymptomatic. However, there is no detailed study on the effect of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in patients with VSAS. Our aim in this study is to show the feasibility and safety of TAVI in symptomatic patients with VSAS.

METHODS
A total of 505 consecutive patients with symptomatic AD who underwent TAVI in our center were retrospectively studied. The mean age of the patients was 77.8±7.6 years, and 56.4% of them were women. The patients were divided into 2 groups: a group with VSAS (n=134 patients) and a group with high-gradient AS (HGAS) (n=371 patients).

RESULTS
Female sex, left ventricular ejection fraction, small left ventricle, hypertrophic left ventricle were more common in the group with VSAS; on the other hand, histories of coronary artery disease bypass surgery, myocardial infarction, and atrial fibrillation were less frequent. Predilatation and Edwards SAPIEN 3 were less used in the group with VSAS. There was no statistical difference in major complications and in-hospital mortality (group with VSAS: 5 patients, group with HGAS: 16 patients; p=0.769) according to the Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 criteria. There was a significant difference between the 2 groups in favor of the group with VSAS on the Cox regression model survival curve (p<0.001).

CONCLUSION
In this study, it has been shown that TAVI can be feasible and safe in symptomatic VSAS, with acceptable complications and higher survival rates. Currently, further randomized studies are required to perform TAVI in patients with asymptomatic VSAS currently indicated for surgical aortic valve replacement.