Background: Aortic stenosis (AS) is increasingly common in the elderly population. A recent invention of transcatheter aortic valve implantation tends to tilt the risk-benefit balance to favor earlier elective intervention for AS. Hence, decision making for elective intervention in octogenarians gradually becomes important. However, the outcome after elective aortic valve replacement (eAVR) has not been evaluated adequately. This study aimed to identify risk factors after eAVR in octogenarians and investigate their influence on long-term outcome.
Methods and Results:One hundred and thirty-seven consecutive Japanese octogenarians with AS who underwent eAVR were studied. The mean follow-up period was 35±22 (range, 0-88) months. Long-term overall survival rates after eAVR were 92.0%, 85.2% and 75.5% at 1, 3 and 5 years, respectively. Cox proportional hazards model identified age [hazard ratio (HR) 1.23; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.43; P<0.01)] and ejection fraction (EF) <50% (HR 3.38; 95%CI 1.34-8.52; P<0.01) as the risk factors of mortality. Post-eAVR survival rates in octogenarians with an EF ≥50% and <50% were 97.3% and 70.4% at 1 year, 90.1% and 65.3% at 3 years, and 84.3% and 39.2% at 5 years, respectively (P<0.0001).
Conclusions:Octogenarians with preserved LV systolic function before surgery have favorable long-term survival after eAVR. However, an EF <50% influences the mortality in octogenarian patients. Therefore, eAVR should be considered for octogenarians with AS before the progression of LV impairment.
Methods
Study PopulationA retrospective study was conducted with 137 consecutive Japanese octogenarians who underwent eAVR for AS between July 2004 and October 2010 at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the Sakakibara Heart Institute, Tokyo, Japan. Preoperative demographic and perioperative data were retrieved from our computerized database. The primary end point was survival, which was obtained by reviewing inpatient records and follow-up records at outpatient clinics attended by discharged patients, and telephone interviews for a longer term outcome of 1 year or longer after surgery. This study was approved by the human ethics committee of the Sakakibara Heart Institute. Informed consent regarding participation in any clinical research was obtained from all subjects through the Sakakibara Heart Integrative Profile when patients were admitted to our hospital, and their data was available for this study.
EchocardiographyComprehensive 2D and Doppler transthoracic echocardiography was performed at the Sakakibara Heart Institute in all patients within 2 months before and 1 week after AVR. A midterm follow-up echocardiography was performed at random from 3 months to 1 year after hospital discharge. A long-term follow-up echocardiography was performed routinely at 1 year after and beyond.Peak transaortic velocity (Vp) and mean transaortic pressure gradient (MPG) were measured by continuous wave Doppler using a multiwindow approach. The aortic valve area (AVA) and actual effective orifice are...