Impact of estimated left atrial volume on prognosis in patients with asymptomatic mild to moderate aortic valve stenosis

Background: The prognostic impact of increased left atrial (LA) volume in mild-to-moderate aortic valve stenosis (AS) is unclear. We investigated the association of estimated LA volume with prognosis in a large prospective study of patients with asymptomatic mild-to-moderate AS. Methods: The association of estimated LA volume with major cardiovascular events (MACE, combined cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalization and non-hemorrhagic stroke) was assessed in 1534 patients with initially mild-to moderate asymptomatic AS, participating in the Simvastatin Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis study for a median of 4.3 years. LA volume was estimated from LA diameter applying a validated nonlinear equation and indexed to body height in meters squared (eLAVI). An enlarged eLAVI was identified by using sex-specific cut-offs (>19 ml/height(2) in men and >17 ml/height(2) in women). Results: Patients with enlarged eLAVI were older, more obese, and had higher systolic blood pressure and left ventricular (LV) mass index (all p < 0.001). During follow-up, incident MACE occurred in 137 patients, more often in patients with enlarged eLAVI (20% vs. 7.7%, p < 0.001). Using aortic valve replacement as a competing risk event, enlarged eLAVI at baseline predicted increased hazard rate (HR) of MACE (HR 2.21 [95% confidence interval 1.37-3.55], p = 0.001) independent of significant associations with presence of LV hypertrophy, older age, higher peak aortic jet velocity, serum creatinine and lower LV ejection fraction and stroke volume. Conclusions: Presence of enlarged eLAVI was independently associated with increased risk of MACE in patients with mild-to moderate asymptomatic AS. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.