Impact of left ventricular dysfunction on outcome in aortic stenosis patients after aortic valve replacement.

Surgical treatment for aortic stenosis includes aortic valve replacement, which alleviates symptoms and increases longevity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of left ventricular dysfunction after aortic valve replacement. Left ventricular function was assessed by a retrospective review of preoperative and postoperative ejection fractions (EF) using echocardiography. The prevalence of left ventricular dysfunction after aortic valve replacement was 17.39% with an odds ratio of 4.37 for low preoperative EF. Despite advances in myocardial protection and cardiothoracic surgical care, preoperative EF remains a strong predictor of outcome in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement.