Table 2.
Baseline characteristics according to treatment strategies.
| Characteristic |
Aortic valve intervention (n = 306) |
Medical treatment (n = 905) |
P -value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics and vital signs | |||
| Age, yr [Median (IQR)] | 58 (50–66) | 68 (61–75) | <0.001 |
| Male, no. (%) | 238 (77.8%) | 581 (64.2%) | <0.001 |
| BMI, kg/m2 [Median (IQR)] | 24.2 (22.1–26.6) | 23.7 (21.3–26.0) | 0.018 |
| BSA, m2 (Mean ± SD) | 1.88 ± 0.17 | 1.81 ± 0.19 | <0.001 |
| Heart rate, bpm [Median (IQR)] | 75 (65.75–80) | 72 (64–81) | 0.122 |
| SBP, mmHg [Median (IQR)] | 130 (120–141) | 130 (120–145) | 0.056 |
| DBP, mmHg [Median (IQR)] | 70 (62–78) | 74 (66–80) | <0.001 |
| Risk factors and comorbidities | |||
| Current smoker, no. (%) | 65 (21.2%) | 169 (18.7%) | 0.329 |
| Hypertension, no. (%) | 160 (52.3%) | 559 (61.8%) | 0.004 |
| Diabetes, no. (%) | 9 (2.9%) | 144 (15.9%) | <0.001 |
| Dyslipidemia, no. (%) | 52 (17.0%) | 144 (15.9%) | 0.658 |
| Atrial fibrillation, no. (%) | 24 (7.8%) | 197 (21.8%) | <0.001 |
| Coronary artery disease, no. (%) | 72 (23.5%) | 428 (47.3%) | <0.001 |
| Prior myocardial infarction, no. (%) | 12 (3.9%) | 66 (7.3%) | 0.029 |
| Prior PCI, no. (%) | 15 (4.9%) | 151 (16.7%) | <0.001 |
| Prior CABG, no. (%) | 2 (0.7%) | 17 (1.9%) | 0.185 |
| Aortic disease, no. (%) | 58 (19.0%) | 120 (13.3%) | 0.017 |
| Cerebrovascular disease, no. (%) | 14 (4.6%) | 120 (13.3%) | <0.001 |
| Peripheral artery disease, no. (%) | 3 (1.0%) | 50 (5.5%) | <0.001 |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, no. (%) | 10 (3.3%) | 64 (7.1%) | 0.011 |
| Chronic kidney disease, no. (%) | 3 (1.0%) | 69 (7.6%) | <0.001 |
| Baseline symptoms | |||
| Dyspnea, no. (%) | 213 (69.6%) | 406 (44.9%) | <0.001 |
| Chest pain, no. (%) | 75 (24.5%) | 257 (28.4%) | 0.184 |
| NYHA functional classification, no. (%) | <0.001 | ||
| I | 84 (27.5%) | 476 (52.6%) | |
| II | 132 (43.1%) | 227 (25.1%) | |
| III | 76 (24.8%) | 141 (15.6%) | |
| IV | 14 (4.6%) | 61 (6.7%) | |
| Laboratory | |||
| Hemoglobin, g/L [Median (IQR)] | 141 (129–151) | 132 (119–144) | <0.001 |
| eGFR, ml/min/1.73m2 (Mean ± SD) | 92.3 ± 25.4 | 82.7 ± 26.8 | <0.001 |
| LDL, mmol/L [Median (IQR)] | 2.4 (1.9–2.9) | 2.3 (1.8–2.9) | 0.440 |
| Total cholesterol, mmol/L [Median (IQR)] | 4.0 (3.3–4.7) | 4.0 (3.3–4.7) | 0.908 |
| NT–proBNP (n = 595), pg/ml [Median (IQR)] | 278 (83–1111) | 748 (217–2698) | <0.001 |
| BNP (n = 177), pg/ml [Median (IQR)] | 121 (36–170) | 42 (18–157) | 0.246 |
| Echocardiography | |||
| LVEF, % [Median (IQR)] | 60 (53–64) | 59 (51–64) | 0.930 |
| LVESD, mm [Median (IQR)] | 38 (33–44) | 35 (31–42) | <0.001 |
| LVESD >50 mm [Median (IQR)] | 39 (12.7%) | 103 (11.4%) | 0.525 |
| LVESDi, mm/m2 [Median (IQR)] | 20.4 (17.9–24.0) | 19.3 (17.0–23.1) | 0.005 |
| LVEDD, mm [Median (IQR)] | 58 (53–64) | 53 (48–59) | <0.001 |
| LVEDD >70 mm [Median (IQR)] | 25 (8.2%) | 53 (5.9%) | 0.164 |
| LVEDDi, mm/m2 [Median (IQR)] | 31.1 (27.9–34.1) | 29.3 (26.4–33.1) | <0.001 |
| LAi, mm/m2 [Median (IQR)] | 20.4 (18.1–23.4) | 22.1 (19.7–25.5) | <0.001 |
| Aortic valve morphology, no. (%) | <0.001 | ||
| Tricuspid | 253 (82.7%) | 871 (96.2%) | |
| Bicuspid | 44 (14.4%) | 31 (3.4%) | |
| Unicuspid/Quadricuspid | 9 (2.9%) | 3 (0.3%) | |
| Moderate secondary MR, no. (%) | 18 (5.9%) | 141 (15.6%) | <0.001 |
| ≥moderate TR, no. (%) | 15 (8.2%) | 176 (5.9%) | <0.001 |
| Pulmonary hypertension, no. (%) | 38 (12.4%) | 198 (21.9%) | <0.001 |
| Ascending aortic diameter, mm | 39 (35–45) | 35 (30–40) | <0.001 |
| >45 mm, no. (%) | 68 (22.2%) | 53 (5.9%) | <0.001 |
| Reasons for admission | <0.001 | ||
| Admitted for VHD | 238 (77.8%) | 160 (17.7%) | |
| Admitted for cardiovascular diseases other than VHD | 57 (18.6%) | 655 (72.4%) | |
| Admitted for non–cardiovascular diseases | 11 (3.6%) | 90 (9.9%) | |
| Etiology | <0.001 | ||
| Degenerative | 96 (31.4%) | 346 (38.2%) | |
| Secondary | 86 (28.1%) | 387 (42.8%) | |
| Rheumatic | 26 (8.5%) | 52 (5.7%) | |
| Congenital | 72 (23.5%) | 47 (5.2%) | |
| Autoimmune | 1 (0.3%) | 4 (0.4%) | |
| EuroSCORE–II [Median (IQR)] | 0.9 (0.6–1.2) | 1.1 (0.8–2.1) | <0.001 |
| Intervention | |||
| Aortic valve repair, no. (%) | 15 (4.9%) | – | – |
| SAVR, no. (%) | 283 (92.4%) | – | – |
| TAVR, no. (%) | 8 (2.6%) | – | – |
| Concomitant cardiac or aortic surgery | 157 (51.3%) | ||
| CABG, no. (%) | 52 (17.0%) | – | – |
| Aortic surgery, no. (%) | 69 (22.5%) | – | – |
| Other cardiac surgery, no. (%)|| | 71 (23.2%) | – | – |
| Isolated cardiac or aortic surgery without AVI | 13 (1.4%) | ||
| CABG, no. (%) | – | 6 (0.7%) | – |
| Aortic surgery, no. (%) | – | 4 (0.4%) | – |
| Other cardiac surgery, no. (%) | – | 10 (1.1%) | – |
| Medication use | |||
| Beta–blocker, no. (%) | 205 (67.0%) | 572 (63.2%) | 0.230 |
| ACEI/ARB, no. (%) | 136 (44.4%) | 495 (54.7%) | 0.002 |
| ARNI, no. (%) | 2 (0.6%) | 21 (2.3%) | 0.087 |
| Diuretics, no. (%) | 282 (92.2%) | 462 (51.0%) | <0.001 |
| Digitalis, no. (%) | 146 (47.7%) | 147 (16.2%) | <0.001 |
| Warfarin, no. (%) | 293 (95.8%) | 162 (17.9%) | <0.001 |
| New oral anticoagulants, no. (%) | 4 (1.3%) | 78 (8.6%) | <0.001 |
| Antiplatelet agents, no. (%) | 93 (30.4%) | 573 (63.3%) | <0.001 |
eGFR, estimated glomerular filtration rate; LDL, low-density lipoproteins.