Impact of the left ventricular mass index on the outcomes of severe aortic stenosis

ObjectiveTo elucidate the factors associated with high left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and to test the hypothesis that high LVMI is associated with worse outcome in severe aortic stenosis (AS).MethodsWe analysed 3282 patients with LVMI data in a retrospective multicentre registry enrolling consecutive patients with severe AS in Japan. The management strategy, conservative or initial aortic valve replacement (AVR), was decided by the attending physician. High LVMI was defined as LVMI >115 g/m2 for males and >95 g/m2 for females. We compared the risk between normal and high LVMI in the primary outcome measures compromising aortic valve-related death and heart failure hospitalisation.ResultsAge was mean 77 (SD 9.6) years and peak aortic jet velocity (Vmax) was 4.1 (0.9) m/s. The factors associated with high LVMI (n=2374) included female, body mass index ≥22, absence of dyslipidemia, left ventricular ejection fraction