Cause of death after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Objectives To evaluate survival and cause of death in a consecutive patient cohort undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve implantation (TAVI). Background TAVI is a valid treatment option in patients with severe Aortic Stenosis (AS) who are deemed at (very) high operative risk. Because of (non-)cardiac comorbidities life expectancy in this patient, population is reduced when compared with the general population. Methods Consecutive patients with symptomatic aortic stenosis undergoing TAVI between November 2005 and December 2011 were included. (1) Survival status was obtained from the Dutch Civil Registry, (2) cause of death was derived by reviewing hospital charts, and (3) contacting referring physicians and patients' general practitioners. Results Two hundred and thirty-seven consecutive patients were included with an overall all-cause mortality of 31% at a median follow up of 13 months (IQR 2-24 months). Four patients (1.6%) died < 48 hr of the TAVI procedure, and another 16 patients died up to the 30-day interval representing an all-cause 8.4% 30-day mortality. Between 30 days and 1-year another 30 patients died. Twenty-four patients died >1 year post TAVI. The predominant cause of death >48 hr post TAVI was noncardiac. One third of these deaths were due to sepsis/infection, one-fifth to cancer and stroke in 16%. Conclusions In our series of AS patients undergoing TAVI, the cause of death >48 hr post procedure was predominantly noncardiac at every time interval. Mortality was driven by sepsis/infection, cancer, and stroke. Rigorous patient selection may improve outcome after TAVI.