Causes and temporal trends in procedural deaths after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

The causes of procedural deaths after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) have been scarcely detailed.

To assess these causes and their temporal trends since the beginning of the TAVI era.

From October 2006 to April 2014, 601 consecutive high-risk/inoperable patients with severe aortic stenosis underwent TAVI using the Edwards SAPIEN or SAPIEN XT or the Medtronic CoreValve. The transfemoral route was the default approach; the transapical or left subclavian approaches were alternative options. Patients were divided into three tertiles according to the date of the procedure.

Procedural death occurred in 45 patients (7.5%), with a median±standard deviation age of 83±7 years; 23 were men (51%) and the mean logistic EuroSCORE was 26±16%. The main cause of death was heart failure (n=19, 42%), followed by cardiac rupture (n=12, 27%), intensive care complications (n=9, 20%) and vascular complications (n=5, 11%). The mortality rate was higher after transapical than transfemoral TAVI (17% vs. 5%; P<0.001). The mortality rate decreased over time (11.9% in the first tertile, 6.0% in the second and 4.5% in the third [P=0.007]), driven by a reduction in heart failure-related deaths (6.5% in the first tertile vs. 1.5% in the third; P=0.011). Vascular complication-related deaths disappeared in the third tertile. However, there was no decrease in deaths related to cardiac ruptures and intensive care complications.

The procedural mortality rate of TAVI decreased over time, driven by the decrease in heart failure-related deaths. However, efforts should continue to prevent cardiac ruptures and improve the outcomes of patients requiring intensive care after TAVI.