Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 14, 2026
Upper-extremity Approach for Secondary Access in Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation
Published on: August 8, 2025
Red cell distribution width improves the prediction of prognosis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation
Valérie M Collas1, Bernard P Paelinck2, Inez E Rodrigus2
1Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Translational Pathophysiological Research, Cardiovascular Diseases, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium Department of Cardiology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium valerie.collas@uza.be valerie.collas@uantwerpen.be.
Objectives:
The aim of this study was to determine if red cell distribution width (RDW) could improve the prediction of prognosis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).
Methods:
In this single-centre study, 197 consecutive patients underwent TAVI (median age 82 (77-86), 46.2% men). Normal RDW at baseline was defined as ≤15.5%, elevated RDW at baseline was defined as >15.5%. Ouctomes according to the Valve Academic Research Consortium 2 and survival up to one year were compared between these groups.
Results:
Compared with the patients with RDW ≤15.5% (n = 168), those with RDW >15.5% (n = 29) had a higher Society of Thoracic Surgeon (STS) score (7.2 vs 5.0%, P = 0.041), higher systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (50 vs 41 mmHg, P = 0.021) and lower haemoglobin (11.5 vs 12.4 mg/dl, P = 0.003). Patients with RDW >15.5% developed significantly more adverse events after TAVI (major vascular complications: 10.3 vs 1.8%, P = 0.042; aortic regurgitation grade II-IV: 50.0 vs 18.0%, P = 0.001) and survival up to 1 year was significantly lower (85.6 vs 65.2%, log-rank: P = 0.007). In addition, RDW >15.5% at baseline was the most significant predictor for mortality (hazard ratio: 2.701 (1.279-5.704), P = 0.009), even when the STS score was added to the model [RDW >15.5%: hazard ratio: 2.276 (1.045-4.954), P = 0.038].
Conclusions:
Elevated RDW is a significant predictor for adverse events and increased 1-year mortality after TAVI. Adding RDW to the classical STS score could be a valuable strategy to improve preoperative risk assessment in potential TAVI candidates.
