Transcatheter aortic valve implantation in patients with ascending aortic dilatation: safety of the procedure and mid-term follow-up†.

OBJECTIVES Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) does not enable concomitant or simultaneous ascending aortic intervention. This investigation evaluates the safety of TAVI in patients with ascending aortic dilatation and demonstrates mid-term follow-up. METHODS From November 2007 to December 2012, among 1143 patients with severe aortic stenosis screened for TAVI, a cohort of 457 patients met the inclusion criteria. Of these, a total of 98 patients [71% males, median age 85.0 (9.0) years] were diagnosed with concomitant ascending aortic dilatation (4.0-5.0 cm). An additional 2 patients had an ascending aortic diameter of >5.0 cm. The mid-term follow-up (652.2 patient-years) was 100% complete. RESULTS There was no iatrogenic dissection in patients with dilatated ascending aorta. Intraoperative aortic rupture occurred in 1 patient with mildly dilatated ascending aorta. One-year survival rates in patients with dilatated and non-dilatated ascending aorta were 65 of 75 (87%) and 201 of 242 (83%, P = 0.573). The mean ascending aortic diameter remained stable at 4.1 (0.2) and 4.7 (0.2) cm in patients with mild and moderate dilatation, respectively, with a median follow-up of 14 months after TAVI. Two patients with an aortic diameter of over 5.0 cm survived the procedure and expired 7 and 20 months after TAVI due to tumour and heart failure, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Ascending aortic dilatation is diagnosed in almost one-fourth of patients treated with TAVI. Their intraprocedural risk of adverse aortic events is low. The ascending aortic dilatation does not affect mid-term survival in the TAVI population.