Impact of Valve Replacement on Long-Term Survival in Asymptomatic Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis

Aortic valve (AV) replacement (AVR) is the only effective treatment for severe aortic stenosis (AS). However, survival benefits by performing AVR in asymptomatic AS patients with preserved left ventricular (LV) function remains controversial. This study included 468 patients (aged 64.2 ± 13.0 years, 232 women) with preserved LV function (≥50%) and severe AS (AV area ≤1.0 cm², peak trans-AV velocity [V_max] ≥4.0 m/s, or mean AV pressure gradient ≥40 mm Hg) between 2000 and 2015. AVR was performed in 221 (47.2%) patients early (within 3 months; n = 130, 27.8%) or during follow-up (n = 91, 19.4%), whereas the remainder (n = 247) received medical treatment. Time-dependent Cox regression analyses were performed to determine the impact of AVR on long-term survival outcomes. During a median follow-up of 60.9 months (quartile 1 to 3, 29.9 to 107.0 months), 72 (15.4%) patients developed AS-related symptoms and 146 (31.2%) died. On time-dependent Cox models, AVR was associated with a significant risk reduction in all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR], 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40 to 0.97; p = 0.036) and cardiac death (HR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.995; p = 0.048) after adjusting for significant contributors to mortality. Survival benefits by performing AVR were manifested in most risk subgroups. In conclusion, AVR in asymptomatic severe AS patients with preserved LV function resulted in significant survival benefits, suggesting that early recruitment for AVR may be warranted before ventricular dysfunction or symptom development.