Abstract 16649: Natural History of Ascending Aortic Aneurysms With Bicuspid and Tricuspid Aortic Valves

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with bicuspid aortic valves (BAV) and tricuspid aortic valves (TAV) with ascending aortic aneurysms (AAA) are at risk for aortic complications. Meticulous follow-up and assessment of risk factors can mitigate the adverse aortic events. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that BAV and TAV with AAA can be managed conservatively with acceptable survival, low aortic complication rate, and timely surgery. Methods: From 2016 to 2018, 188 patients were seen for an isolated AAA. 147 patients had two or more CT scans (631-patient-years) which allowed measurement of aortic growth. We used a 1:1 greedy matching algorithm in R to identify similar cohorts of BAV and TAV patients matched by age, sex, hypertension, family history of aortic disease, coronary artery disease, and hyperlipidemia. Univariate and multivariate analysis of the unmatched cohorts were performed. Echocardiogram data was evaluated for each patient. Results: Initial mean AAA diameter was 4.3±0.58 cm (Table 1). The mean time between scans was 4.2 ± 3.3 years. 20 patients had an ascending aortic aneurysm ≥ 5cm with mean diameter 5.2 ± 0.23 cm (range 5.0-6.0 cm). Five patients had an aortic event (1 BAV and 4 TAV). Three of these aortic events lead to patient deaths (1 BAV and 2 TAV), in addition to one death (TAV) unrelated to aortic pathology. From time of enrollment, survival at 10 years was 90 ± 32%. Our model suggests that given the absence of known high risk factors, BAV patients do not have an accelerated ascending or root growth rate in comparison to their TAV counterparts. BAV patients do have higher rates of aortic stenosis (p <.05), a factor that influenced the need for aortic repair. Conclusion: In conclusion, regardless of aortic valve type, the associated AAA has a similar natural history and low adverse event rate. In the absence of risk factors, conservative management of AAA can be accomplished with minimal risk to the patient.