Influence of preoperative left ventricular function on results of homograft replacement of the aortic valve for aortic stenosis.

The effect of preoperative left ventricular function on early and late prognosis was assessed in 103 patients with aortic stenosis who underwent left ventricular cineangiography before homograft replacement of the aortic valve. The patients were separated into two groups: Group A (58 patients) with an ejection fraction of 0.46 or more and Group B (45 patients) with an ejection fraction of 0.45 or less. The two groups were compared with respect to clinical and hemodynamic data as well as operative result. There was poor correlation between clinical data and left ventricular function. In Group A there were three early deaths (5.2 percent) and three late deaths (5.2 percent) compared with no early and six late deaths (13.3 percent) in Group B during the follow-up period of 12 to 102 months (mean 43 months). Most patients in Group B showed considerable symptomatic improvement but less than that observed in Group A. Forty-two patients (13 in Group A and 29 in Group B) underwent repeat cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography. Improvement in left ventricular function as assessed by radial analysis of segmental wall motion and ejection fraction was observed in 20 of the 29 patients in Group B. Failure of left ventricular function to improve was associated with additional coronary artery disease in the majority of patients. It is concluded that poor left ventricular function does not increase the risk of aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis and that improvement in left ventricular function can be expected in the majority of patients.