• Christophe Tribouilloy, Franck Lévy, Dan Rusinaru, Pascal Guéret, Hélène Petit-Eisenmann, Serge Baleynaud, Yannick Jobic, Catherine Adams, Bernard Lelong, Agnès Pasquet, Christophe Chauvel, Damien Metz, Jean-Paul Quéré, and Jean-Luc Monin.
• Department of Cardiology, INSERM, ERI-12, Amiens and University Hospital Amiens, Amiens, France. tribouilloy.christophe@chu-amiens.fr
• J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2009 May 19;53(20):1865-73.

ObjectivesThis study investigated whether aortic valve replacement (AVR) is associated with improved survival in patients with severe low-flow/low-gradient aortic stenosis (LF/LGAS) without contractile reserve (CR) on dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE).BackgroundPatients with LF/LGAS without CR have a high mortality rate with conservative therapy. The benefit of AVR in this subset of patients remains controversial.MethodsEighty-one consecutive patients with symptomatic calcified LF/LGAS (valve area or=20% compared with the baseline value. Multivariable analysis and propensity scores were used to compare survival according to whether or not AVR was performed (n = 55).ResultsFive-year survival was higher in AVR patients compared with medically managed patients (54 +/- 7% vs. 13 +/- 7%, p = 0.001) despite a high operative mortality of 22% (n = 12). An AVR was independently associated with lower 5-year mortality (adjusted hazard ratio from 0.16 to 5.21 varying with time [95% confidence interval: 0.12-3.16 to 0.21-8.50], p = 0.00026). In 42 propensity-matched patients, 5-year survival was markedly improved by AVR (65 +/- 11% vs. 11 +/- 7%, p = 0.019). Associated bypass surgery (p = 0.007) and MPG ConclusionsIn patients with LF/LGAS without CR on DSE, AVR is associated with better outcome compared with medical management. Surgery should not be withheld from this subset of patients solely on the basis of lack of CR on DSE.

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