Abstract 12852: Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement for Aortic Stenosis in Small Aortic Annulus: Medium-Term Follow-Up

Abstract

Introduction: Small aortic annulus (SAA) is a clinical challenge in managing aortic stenosis (AS). The SAA has been associated with poorer outcomes after surgical AVR with an increased risk of perioperative and overall mortality, suboptimal valvular hemodynamics, and adverse cardiovascular events. Hypothesis: TAVI could be a therapeutic alternative in these patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients with AS treated with TAVI from 2015 to 2021 in our center, with SAA defined as the aortic annulus of ≤22mm perimeter-derived diameter (PDD), measured by CT. Results: Sixty-eight patients were included (85.3% women, 83.2± 6.5 years) with a mean PDD of 20.7 ± 1.1 mm. The 14.7% had LVEF <50% and 1.4% had bicuspid aortic valve. The Access route was transfemoral in 64 patients (94.2%) and 4 transapical (5.8%). Self-expanding prostheses were used in 78% of the cases, balloon-expandable prostheses in 17.6%, and mechanically-expandable prostheses in 4.4%. The size of the aortic prostheses was 23mm in 82.3% and >23mm in 17.7%. The perioperative implant success rate was 100% defined as single prosthesis implantation with a mean gradient <20mmhg and angiographic paravalvular leak <2. The rate of new permanent pacemaker implantation was 13.2%. The in-hospital complications rate was 5.8% (4 patients): major vascular complication in 1 patient (1.4%), acute kidney injury stage ≥2 in 1 (1.4%), disabling stroke in 2 (2.9%). There were no deaths in the first 30 days of the procedure. At discharge, the TTE máximum gradient was 19.8 ± 9.2mmhg, the mean gradient 9 ± 4.8mmhg, and 4 patients had paravalvular leak grade ≥2 (5.9%). During a mean follow-up of 27.8 ±7.6 months, 45 patients were in NYHA functional class I (66.2%), 19 in NYHA 11 (27.9%), and 3 in NYHA III (4.4%). Eight patients (11.7%) were readmitted due to heart failure, 10 died (14.7%) due to all-cause mortality, and only 3 of them died due to cardiovascular causes (4.4%). Conclusions: Although the optimal approach for treating patients with AS and SAA remains controversial. TAVI is a very attractive option in these patients, allowing the implantation of prostheses with excellent immediate hemodynamic results, a low rate of complications, and significant clinical improvement in the follow-up.