OBJECTIVE

To assess the influence of gender on mortality after aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed on data prospectively collected from all patients undergoing aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of 22 preoperative and operative variables on early, late, and overall mortality.

RESULTS

Aortic valve replacement was performed in 3343 patients with aortic stenosis between 1982 and 2003. The female patients were older, with a smaller body mass index. The women were less likely to have diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, previous myocardial infarction, or left ventricular ejection fraction <35% but were more likely to have hypertension or a New York Heart Association III-IV classification. The female patients received a smaller prosthetic valve, with a smaller effective orifice area index (EOAI). The mean follow-up period was 6.18 ± 4.96 years, with a total of 2066.142 years of follow-up. The independent predictors of early mortality for the male patients included age, concomitant surgical revascularization, congestive heart failure, and valve size of ≤21 mm. The independent predictors of late mortality for the male patients included age, concomitant surgical revascularization, diabetes, renal failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and a bioprosthetic valve. The independent predictors of overall mortality for the male patients included age, concomitant surgical revascularization, diabetes, renal failure, heart failure, and valve size of ≤21 mm. For the female patients, the risk factors for early mortality included body mass index <25 kg/m(2); for late mortality included age, concomitant surgical revascularization, New York Heart Association class III-IV, and diabetes; and for overall mortality included age, concomitant surgical revascularization, New York Heart Association class III-IV, and renal failure. Furthermore, male gender was an independent predictor of late (but not early or overall) mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

The independent predictors of mortality after aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis differed between the male and female patients. Male gender increased the risk of late mortality, and a valve size of ≤21 mm increased the risk of early and overall mortality among the male patients only. These differences need to be taken into consideration preoperatively and require consideration during operative management.