Left ventricular architecture after valve replacement due to critical aortic stenosis: an approach to dis-/qualify the myth of valve prosthesis–patient mismatch?

Objectives: Left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with critical aortic stenosis (AS) is an adaptive process that compensates for high intracavitary pressure and reduces systolic wall stress followed by an increase in myocardial masses. In the present prospective clinical trial, we investigated long-term compensatory changes in left ventricular geometry and function after aortic valve replacement using mechanical bileaflet prostheses with the main emphasis on the small-sized aortic annulus and valve prosthesis–patient mismatch. Methods: A total of 58 patients with critical AS were assigned to the following groups according to the predictive value of prosthetic valve area index (VAI): group EXMIS: 29 patients (VAI ≤ 0.99), expected mismatch; group NOMIS: 29 patients (VAI ≤ 0.99), no mismatch. At controls T0 (before operation/operation (OP), T1 and T2 (4 and 20 months after OP) the left ventricular geometry was recorded by means of Imatron® electron beam tomography and the transprosthetic velocities were measured by echocardiography. Results: Statistical analysis showed a consistent reduction in the absolute (P = 0.04) and indexed (P = 0.04) left ventricular myocardial mass for both cohorts; furthermore, there was a significant difference between EXMIS and NOMIS patients concerning the factors, time and mass reduction (P = 0.005), because of distinct baselines. A logistic regression report revealed preoperative cardiac output, absolute left ventricular myocardial mass, perfusion, body surface area and the native valve orifice area as predicting coefficients and factors for a minimum mass reduction of 25%. We explain a mathematical formula that turned out to be the most sensitive for correctly classified factors. Conclusions: The left ventricular geometry and transprosthetic velocities resulted in the same postoperative recovery for both EXMIS and NOMIS patients. The presented data showed that valve prosthesis–patient mismatch had no influence in several stepwise logistic regression models. We conclude that modern mechanical bileaflet prostheses allow both acceptable hemodynamics and recovery of left ventricular hypertrophy, even in small aortic annuli.