Surgery for Acquired Cardiovascular Disease
Reduced survival in women after valve surgery for aortic regurgitationEffect of aortic enlargement and late aortic rupture,☆☆

https://doi.org/10.1067/mtc.2000.106329Get rights and content
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Abstract

Objective: We sought to investigate the relationship of female sex, aortic pathology, and left ventricular function to outcome after an operation for aortic regurgitation. Methods: One hundred nine women underwent aortic valve replacement (n = 92) or repair (n = 17) for pure aortic regurgitation between 1985 and 1996. Mean follow-up was 5.7 ± 2.6 years. New York Heart Association functional class III-IV symptoms were present in 70 patients, whereas left ventricular function was normal in 60 patients. Ascending aortic diameter in 97% exceeded the 90th percentile for a size-matched healthy population. A concomitant aortic operation was performed by means of root replacement in 31 patients and by means of interposition graft in 28 patients. Of 50 patients undergoing isolated valve procedures, 19 had aortas of 4.0 cm or larger. Results: At 5 and 10 years, survival was 78% and 44%, respectively. Fatal aortic rupture occurred in 13 patients, and 2 others underwent emergency operations for impending aortic rupture, for a total of 15 late aortic events. Freedom from aortic events was 87% and 76% at 5 and 10 years, respectively. Risk factors for aortic events were older age (P = .07) and increasing ascending aortic diameter indexed to body surface area (P = .03) in women who had not undergone replacement of the ascending aorta. Rupture location was at the ascending aorta in 71% without ascending replacement and the descending aorta in 62% with ascending grafts. Conclusion: In women, late survival after an operation for aortic regurgitation is importantly decreased by coexisting aortic pathology with subsequent aortic rupture. Aortic replacement at the time of a valve operation should be considered on the basis of indexed aortic size. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2000;119:1205-15)

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Read at the Seventy-ninth Annual Meeting of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery, New Orleans, La, April 18-21, 1999.

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Address for reprints: Nicholas G. Smedira, MD, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 9500 Euclid Ave, Desk F25, Cleveland, OH 44195 (E-mail: [email protected] ).