Female patients with coronary artery disease and aortic stenosis undergoing a surgical or interventional treatment in terms of revascularization and valve replacement

Background

Coronary artery disease (CAD) in female patients undergoing a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) is accompanied with a worse outcome compared to those without CAD. Nevertheless, it is still unclear whether a complete revascularization and outcome are achieved similarly in women treated with an interventional (PCI plus TAVI) or surgical (CABG plus SAVR) treatment strategy.

Purpose

This study aims to compare the completeness of revascularization in terms of residual SyntaxScore and to evaluate the differences in 30-days (short-term), one-year and three-years (intermediate term) mortality in women with CAD and AS undergoing a surgical or catheter-based treatment.

Methods

Patients were recruited at one tertiary center in Germany between 2016 and 2019. Initially the surgical group contained 932 patients and the interventional cohort 360 patients as a result of setting a maximum time interval of 3 months between PCI and TAVI.

The surgical group (CABG+SAVR) and the interventional group (PCI+TAVI) were compared by using a propensity score analysis. Age, left ventricular function, EuroSCORE II and degree of CAD served as matching parameters so that the matched female cohort finally consisted of 114 patients (57 patients treated interventionally, 57 treated surgically). Syntax Score was measured before and after revascularization. As a primary endpoint all-cause mortality was analyzed at 30 days, one and three years after the procedure.

Results

Median age was 80 years both in the interventional and surgical cohort (p=0.298). Both groups represented a moderate to high-risk population (EuroScore II in PCI+TAVI: 4.39 [2.83–8.82] vs 6.18 [3.43–8.6] in CABG+SAVR (p=0.279) and showed no significant difference in median pre-interventional/preoperative SyntaxScore I (PCI+TAVI: 16.00 [9–26.5] vs CABG+SAVR: 18 [9.5–25.5]; p=0.719). In the interventional group coronary physiology was measured more frequently (6.8% vs 1.8%, p=0.024). There was no significant difference in the presence of an aortoostial lesion, heavy calcification and a length of the lesion >20mm between PCI+TAVI and CABG+SAVR before therapy (PCI+TAVI vs CABG+SAVR: 11.1% vs 13.0%, p=0.581; 60.5% vs 55.1%, p=0.289; 20.4% vs 25.1%, p=0.316). The main stem as target lesion was present in both groups with no significant difference (PCI+TAVI vs CABG+SAVR: 8.8% vs 19.3%, p=0.106).

Median residual SyntaxScore I was significantly higher in PCI+TAVI than in CABG+SAVR (5.0 [0.0–13.0] vs 0.0 [0.0–8.5], p=0.03).

No significant difference in 30-days, 1-year and 3-years mortality was observed between the interventional and surgical group (PCI+TAVI vs CABG+SAVR: 3.5% vs 8.8%, p=0.242; 10.5% vs 14%, p=0.568; 22.8% vs 15.8%, p=0.342).

Conclusion

Female patients with AS and CAD with low SyntaxScore undergoing CABG+SAVR reach a more complete revascularization than those treated interventionally. Nevertheless, this fact seems to have no influence on short and intermediate term mortality.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.

Predicting procedural success in patients treated with Cardioband system for severe tricuspid regurgitation by employing a random forest algorithm

Background

Severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with high morbidity and mortality despite optimal medical treatment. Transcatheter tricuspid valve intervention (TTVI) is therefore emerging as a novel treatment option, fueling the hope to prolong survival and reduce rehospitalization for heart failure. Obviously, procedural success of TTVI is an important determinant of survival, but predictors for procedural success in patients treated with Cardioband system, which mimics the surgical approach by implanting an annular reduction system and hence targets tricuspid annulus dilatation as the central pathology in most patients, are largely elusive.

Purpose

This study aims to refine prediction of procedural success in patients with severe TR undergoing TTVI with Cardioband system by employing a random forest algorithm.

Methods

Procedural success was evaluated in 72 patients enrolled at two tertiary centers in Germany between 2018 and 2020. Key inclusion criterion was TR ≥ III/V° with high symptomatic burden despite optimal medical treatment. Procedural success war defined as patient alive at the end of the procedure, successful Cardioband implantation, and TR reduction ≥ II/V° as assessed on transthoracic echocardiography before discharge. Since 66.7% of patients were classified as “success”, a synthetic minority over-sampling technique was applied in order to train the random forest algorithm on a balanced data set.

Results

A random forest algorithm reached 85.4% accuracy (AUC: 0.923) in predicting procedural success in a balanced data set using eight parameters from pre-procedural echocardiography as input variables. Partial dependence analysis revealed that enlargement of the tricuspid valve (TV) anteroseptal diameter was most important for model accuracy. Applied to the real-world data set (24 patients classified as “failure” and 48 patients classified as “success”), the now trained random forest algorithm predicted procedural success with high sensitivity (70.8%) and specificity (100.0%), significantly outperforming the no information rate (p-value: 0.0069). Patients with low probability for success were characterized by impaired right ventricular function (TAPSE: 15.5±3.63 mm) and enlarged right sided cardiac diameters (basal right ventricular diameter: 51.6±3.79 mm; TV anteroseptal diameter: 45.0±5.10 mm). Notably, systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) and TV effective regurgitant orifice area were negatively correlated (R: −0.3004, p-value: 0.0322), and elevation in sPAP was attenuated in patients with low probability for procedural success (sPAP: 34.0±11.7 mmHg).

Conclusion

A random forest algorithm enables precise prediction of procedural success in patients treated with Cardioband system. TR reduction ≥ II/V° appears less achievable in patients with advanced stages of right heart failure, emphasizing the importance of adequate patient selection and timing of intervention.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.

Short- and intermediate-term mortality in women and men after surgical versus interventional revascularization and aortic valve replacement

Background

Patients with isolated aortic valve stenosis (AS) at intermediate and even low-risk benefit from an interventional treatment with TAVI as compared to surgical aortic valve replacement. Whether patients with concomitant coronary artery disease have a better outcome with an interventional (PCI plus TAVI) or surgical (CABG plus SAVR) treatment strategy is still unclear.

Purpose

To evaluate the differences in 30-days (short-term) and one-year (intermediate term) mortality in women and men with CAD and AS undergoing a surgical or catheter-based treatment.

Methods

All patients were treated in Heart and Diabetes Center Bad Oeynhausen during 2016–2019. The surgical group contained 932 patients, the interventional cohort 360 patients as a result of setting a maximum time interval of 3 months between PCI and TAVR.

CABG+SAVR and PCI+TAVR cohorts were compared by using a propensity score analysis including age, left ventricular function, EuroSCORE II and degree of CAD as matching parameters. After matching the total cohort, 406 patients could be obtained. The matched female cohort consisted of 114 patients, the matched male cohort of 284 patients. As a primary endpoint all-cause mortality was analyzed at 30 days and one year after the procedure. Furthermore, procedural and post-procedural outcome were analyzed.

Results

The studied TAVI cohort was a low to intermediate risk population (EuroScore II of the total cohort: 3.82 [2.49–6.64] in CABG+SAVR vs 4.36 [2.59–7.12] in PCI+TAVR, p=0.38; women: 6.18 [3.43–8.6], p=0.279; men: 4.39 [2.83–8.82], p=0.279). There was no significant difference in 30-days mortality between the surgical and interventional group, regarding the total cohort (3.9% vs 2.5%; p=0.398). Whereas in the male cohort 30-days mortality was comparable between interventional and surgical treatment (2.1% vs 2.1%; p=1), in the female group the surgical treatment showed a trend towards higher mortality without reaching statistical significance (8.8% vs 3.5%; p=0.242). Additionally, one-year mortality did not differ in the three cohorts between CABG+SAVR and PCI+TAVR (total cohort: 11.3% vs 12.8%; p=0.648 women: 14% vs 10.5%; p=0.568; men: 11.3% vs 14.8%; p=0.378). The number of postprocedural permanent pacemaker implantations was statistically higher after TAVR plus PCI (total cohort: 7.4% vs 15.3%; p=0.012; women: 7% vs 19.3%; p=0.052; men: 8.5% vs 19%; p=0.01). Furthermore, a significantly longer length of hospital stay was reported for the surgical cohort (total cohort: 13 [11–17] vs 11 [9–15]; p=0; women: 14 [12–18] vs 12 [10.5–15.5]; p=0.019; men: 13 [11–15] vs 11 [9–15]; p=0).

Conclusion

In patients with AS and CAD there is no significant difference in short and intermediate term mortality when comparing surgical or interventional treatment.

Subsequently, an interventional approach might be a legitimate alternative to CABG+SAVR in these patients.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: None.