Background: Recent publications had found interesting findings regarding the impact of gender on clinical outcomes among patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).
Methods: A cohort of 262 TAVI patients with a mean follow up of 650±423 days was analyzed. Patients were divided into two cohorts according to their gender.
Baseline characteristics, procedural features and clinical outcomes of both groups were compared according to the VARC2 criteria.
Results: The Cohort included 157(60%) females and 105(40%) males. Mean age was 81.6±6.8 for both groups. Calculated EuroSCORE and STS score were 18.0±12.7 and 8.1±5.0; respectively in both groups. At baseline, male patients, presented higher rates of previous CABG surgery [34%vs.12.1%; p<0.001] and a trend toward higher rates of diabetes mellitus [38.4%vs.27.5%; p=0.07]. No significant differences were observed in rates of peripheral vascular disease [21.1%vs.14.1%); p=0.14] and COPD [26.9%vs.22.4%; p=0.4]. At baseline, 98% of patients in each group were in NYHA-III/IV. Device success, according to VARC2 criteria, was achieved in 96.7% of female and in 92.3% of male patients (p=0.4), this difference was due to a lower percentage of females than males requiring a second valve implantation, 3.2%vs.7.7% (p=0.1); respectively. Procedural success was achieved in 96.1% of females vs. 98.1% of males, p<0.7. Rates of post-procedural any-vascular complication were similar between groups, 22.4% and 15.3%, p=0.1; for females and males, respectively. Need for a permanent
pacemaker was 18.2% in males vs. 12.8% in females, p=0.2. Survival rates for female vs. male patients at one month and one year follow up were: 96.2%vs.99.1%, p=0.4 and 94.6%vs.87.2%, p=0.04 (Graph). Significant symptomatic improvement
was observed in both genders.
Conclusion: In our unadjusted cohort,we found better long-term
survival among women vs. men following TAVI. Gender-related factors may play a role in determining the long-term outcomes in AS patients following TAVI.
