Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients 80 Years of Age and Older

BACKGROUND: Aging of the population and advances in preoperative and postoperative care are reflected in an increasing number of patients > or = 80 years of age undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) in the United Kingdom. The present study presents data on postoperative 30-day mortality, actuarial survival, and cause of death based on a large collective patient population. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data were extracted from the UK Heart Valve Registry. From January 1986 to December 1995, 1100 patients > or = 80 years of age underwent AVR and were reported to the registry. Six hundred eleven patients (55.5%) were women. The mean follow-up time was 38.9 months. The 30-day mortality was 6.6%. Of the 73 early deaths, 42 were due to cardiac reasons. The actuarial survival was 89%, 79.3%, 68.7%, and 45.8% at 1, 3, 5, and 8 years, respectively. After the first 30 postoperative days, 144 of the 205 deaths were due to noncardiac reasons. Malignancy, stroke, and pneumonia were the most common causes of late death. Bioprosthetic valves were implanted in 969 patients (88%) and mechanical valves in 131 (12%) patients. There was no difference in early mortality and actuarial survival between the two groups (P>.05). CONCLUSIONS: The above results suggest that under the selection criteria for AVR currently applied in the United Kingdom, patients > or = 80 years of age show a satisfactory early postoperative outcome and moderate medium-term survival benefit.