Aortic Stenosis

Levosimendan improves hemodynamic status in critically ill patients with severe aortic stenosis and left ventricular dysfunction: an interventional study

AIMS

To study the hemodynamic effect of levosimendan administration in acute heart failure patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).

METHODS

Hemodynamic response to 24 h intravenous levosimendan infusion (0.1 μg/kg/min without a loading dose) in patients with severe AS (aortic valve area ≤1 cm(2) , time-velocity integral between left ventricular out-flow tract and aortic valve <0.25), reduced LVEF (≤40%), and a depressed cardiac index (CI) <2.2 L/min/m(2) was determined in a sequential group of nine patients aged 76 ± 10 years (5 men).

RESULTS

Baseline mean ejection fraction was 33 ± 0.7%; mean aortic valve area was 0.37 ±0.11 cm(2) /m(2) ; peak and mean gradients of 63.6 ± 20.53 and 36.7 ± 12.62 mmHg, respectively; and mean CI was 1.65 ± 0.20 L/min/m(2) . At 6 and 12 h of levosimendan therapy, mean CI had increased to 2.00 ± 0.41 L/min/m(2) (P = 0.02) and 2.17 ± 0.40 L/min/m(2) (P = 0.01), respectively. At 24 h, mean CI had increased further to 2.37 ± 0.49 L/min/m(2) (P = 0.01). A significant beneficial effect was also observed in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, pulmonary artery mean pressure, central venous pressure, systemic vascular resistances, pulmonary vascular resistances, stroke volume index, left ventricular stroke work index. NTproBNP levels decreased at 24 h of levosimendan treatment. Levosimendan infusion was also well tolerated. Five patients subsequently underwent aortic valve surgery replacement. One died (of postoperative multiorgan failure). At 30 days, overall survival was 75%.

CONCLUSIONS

Levosimendan administration improves hemodynamic parameters in critically ill patients with severe AS and reduced LVEF. In our study, it provides a safe and effective bridge to aortic-valve replacement or oral vasodilator therapy in surgical contraindicated patients. A controlled study is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.

Gender-specific outcomes after balloon aortic valvuloplasty: Inhospital and long-term outcomes

BACKGROUND

Increasing numbers of balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) are performed in the management of symptomatic aortic stenosis as bridge and therapeutic challenge in the work-up for transcatheter aortic valve replacement. However, the significance of gender in outcomes following BAV remains controversial.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 664 consecutive patients who underwent BAV from January 2005 to December 2012. Patients were stratified according to gender. Clinical and procedural characteristics as well as in-hospital outcomes and 1-year mortality were collected. Cumulative survival curves for women and men were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method and were compared by the log-rank test. Cox regression analysis was performed to identify the independent effect of sex on 1-year mortality.

RESULTS

Of the 664 patients, 333 (52%) were women. Women had lower body surface area, tended to be frailer and were less likely to have history of coronary artery disease. Women were more likely to present with heart failure whereas men presented more commonly with chest pain. In hospital death was significantly higher in women compared to men, mainly driven by the difference in cardiac death (8.1% vs 3.9%, P = .02 and 6.3% vs 2.6%, P = .02 respectively). One-year mortality rates were similar in women and men (25.4% vs 29.4%, P = .42) and after multivariate analysis gender had no association with 1-year mortality (HR = 0.9, P = .65).

CONCLUSIONS

Significant differences exist in baseline characteristics and presentation between genders. Although in hospital mortality after BAV was significantly higher in women, 1-year mortality was similar between women and men.