Treatment assignment of high-risk symptomatic severe aortic stenosis patients referred for transcatheter AorticValve implantation.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become an option for patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis whose co-morbidities place them at high surgical risk. However, little is known regarding treatment allocation. From May 2008 to May 2011, all high-risk patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis referred to an experienced single-center TAVI clinic were reviewed. A total of 170 consecutive patients were evaluated. Of these, 58 (34%) were accepted for TAVI (mean age 81 ± 8 years). Thirty-three patients (19%) were accepted for conventional aortic valve replacement (AVR; mean age 83 ± 6 years). Sixty-two patients (37%) were treated conservatively (mean age 83 ± 6 years). Seventeen patients (10%) died awaiting complete assessment. At 30 days, all-cause mortality was 10% in the TAVI group, 3% in the conventional AVR group, and 32% in the conservatively treated group. Multivariate-adjustment identified the absence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (hazard ratio 0.30, 95% confidence interval 0.09 to 0.98, p <0.05) and the absence of frailty (hazard ratio 0.19, 95% confidence interval 0.07 to 0.55, p <0.01) as independent predictors of conventional AVR. In conclusion, of the high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis referred for TAVI at a large single center, approximately 1/2 were accepted for intervention (conventional AVR or TAVI), and roughly 1/3 were treated conservatively.