Endovascular Aortic Repair Increases Vascular Stiffness and Alters Cardiac Structure and Function

Background: Endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) is performed in patients with thoracic or abdominal aortic aneurysm because it is less invasive than conventional open repair. However, the effects of EVAR on vascular and cardiac function remain to be clarified. Methods and Results: We studied the effects of EVAR on several outcome variables in 40 consecutive patients undergoing EVAR for abdominal and/or thoracic aneurysm with preserved ejection fraction. Echocardiography and brachial–ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) data were collected before, 1 week, and 1 year after EVAR. Although no changes in blood pressure were found, baPWV, left ventricular mass index (LVMI), and left atrial volume index were significantly elevated at both post-op time periods after EVAR compared with baseline data. The changes in LVMI correlated with those in baPWV (R=0.32, P