Percutaneous transluminal aortic valvuloplasty: acute outcome and follow-up of 125 patients.

Percutaneous transluminal aortic valvuloplasty was performed on 125 patients (59 men [47%], mean age 76 +/- 13 years) between July 1986 and May 1988, with presenting symptoms of severe congestive heart failure in 88 (70%), moribund state in 15 (12%) and syncope in 17 (14%). Surgical valve replacement was considered unsuitable in 79% of cases. A multiple balloon technique was utilized in 119 patients (95%). Valvuloplasty produced significant changes in peak pressure gradient (87 +/- 38 to 32 +/- 17 mm Hg), mean pressure gradient (70 +/- 26 to 30 +/- 13 mm Hg) and valve area (0.6 +/- 0.2 to 1.0 +/- 0.3 cm2). Complications included: in-hospital mortality in 10% (6 of 13 deaths in moribund patients), neurologic deficit in 3% and myocardial infarction in 2%. Arterial repair was required at 12 (4%) of 325 entry sites. Multivariate analysis identified severe congestive heart failure, preprocedure left ventricular ejection fraction and cardiac output as the only independent variables significantly affecting mortality. The cumulative probability of survival at 12 months was 62 +/- 6% and, excluding non-cardiac deaths, was 77 +/- 5%. At a mean of 12 +/- 4 months' follow-up, 55 of 72 patients were symptomatically improved; 10 patients with symptom recurrence underwent repeat valvuloplasty and 5 had valve replacement. Cardiac catheterization was repeated in 12 symptomatically improved patients, 9 of whom had valve restenosis. These data indicate that aortic valvuloplasty should be considered a palliative therapy for elderly patients with symptomatic calcific aortic stenosis who are poor surgical candidates.