June 03, 2021
Accumulating data make clear the detrimental effect of moderate aortic stenosis (AS) in patients who have heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), a new study suggests, and they point toward the potential for improving survival after TAVI.
Compared with patients who had HFrEF but not moderate AS, those with the combination of both had greater risk for mortality at 3 years (HR 2.98; 95% CI 2.08-4.31), as well as for the composite of HF hospitalization and mortality (HR 2.34; 95% CI 1.72-3.21). Additionally, those who had TAVI over the follow-up period survived longer than those on medication alone.
Senior author Marie-Annick Clavel, PhD (Laval University, Quebec, Canada), said the while there is consensus that moderate aortic stenosis is not benign, optimal management for the subset of patients with both HF and moderate aortic stenosis is unclear. However, she said current thinking seems to be moving away from “wait-and-see” approaches to intervention