Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients With Small Aortic Annuli: A Propensity-Matched Analysis of...

Patients with small aortic annuli (SAAs) are predominantly women. We sought to compare gender-based and propensity-matched outcomes of index transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in patients with SAAs. In this retrospective institutional analysis (2012 to 2023), primary stratification was by gender. SAA was defined as an aortic valve annulus diameter <23 mm and the 30-day and 1-year outcomes were compared between the groups. A total of 3,911 patients underwent TAVR. Of those, 661 patients had an SAA, of whom 23.8% were men and 76.2% were women. Propensity matching (1:1) identified 152 pairs. The mean age was 81 years. History of surgical or percutaneous coronary intervention was more prevalent in men (72.4% vs 48%, p <0.001). Men had a higher incidence of postoperative pacemaker implantation (8.6% vs 3.3%, p = 0.05), whereas only women had iliofemoral dissections (4.6% vs 0%, p = 0.007). The rates of moderate (23.0% vs 25.7%) and severe (2.6% vs 0.7%) prosthesis-patient mismatch was not statistically significantly different between the groups (p = 0.364). The 30-day mortality was 0%, whereas the 1-year mortality was 4.3%, with no difference between the groups. An increase in preoperative creatinine was associated with higher risk of death (hazard ratio 1.206, 95% confidence interval 1.025 to 1.418, p = 0.02), whereas gender was not. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates (Log rank, p = 0.768) and cumulative incidence of stroke readmission (p = 0.842) were similar in both groups. In conclusion, the outcomes of TAVR in SAAs do not differ by gender, with safety and efficacy evident in men and women.