Impact of short-term complications of transcatheter aortic valve replacement on longer-term outcomes: results from the STS/ACC Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry

Abstract

Aims: While complications of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) have decreased, they still occur commonly and may negatively impact both short- and long-term outcomes. We sought to examine the association of complications after TAVR with survival and health status in a real-world cohort.

Methods and results: Among 45 884 TAVR patients from 513 US sites who survived 30 days, 21.4% had at least one major complication [stroke, bleed, vascular complication, new pacemaker, acute kidney injury (AKI), and moderate/severe paravalvular leak (PVL)]. In multivariable models, Stage 3 AKI [hazard ratio (HR) 3.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.64-4.45], stroke (HR 2.62, 95% CI 2.06-3.32), and bleeding (HR 1.83, 95% CI 1.55-2.16) were independently associated with significantly increased risk of early death (<3 months) with slight attenuation in these hazards between 3 and 12 months. Moderate/severe PVL (HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.21-1.55) and new pacemaker (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.05-1.25) were associated with more modest risk of excess mortality that was consistent through 12 months. Among surviving patients, stroke (-6.1 points, 95% CI -8.4 to -3.7), moderate/severe PVL (-3.2 points, 95% CI -4.9 to -1.6), and new pacemaker (-2.3 points, 95% CI -3.2 to -1.5) were associated with less improvement in 1-year health status, as assessed by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire.

Conclusion: In this study of contemporary TAVR, we found that complications remain common within the first 30 days after TAVR and are associated with worse 1-year survival and health status among survivors. These findings support continued efforts to reduce major complications of TAVR and may also help define quality of care.

Keywords: Complications; Health status; Transcatheter aortic valve replacement.