What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine the relationship between community distress and long-term survival outcomes after aortic valve replacement.

April 8, 2026Open Access

Distressed Communities Have Worse Long-Term Survival After Aortic Valve Replacement

Key Result

Patients residing in distressed communities experience worse long-term survival and clinical outcomes following surgical aortic valve replacement.

Key Points

To examine the relationship between community distress and long-term survival outcomes after aortic valve replacement.
Analyzed DCI scores in relation to clinical outcomes post-surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR)
Assessed survival rates across different community distress levels
Evaluated correlations between DCI scores and survival discrepancies
Higher DCI scores corresponded to worse clinical outcomes after SAVR
Significant survival disparities were observed among distressed communities
Findings suggest potential for DCI to enhance patient care and risk assessment

Structured PICO

Do distressed DCI scores correlate with worse long-term survival in patients post-SAVR?

Population

Patients post-surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR)

Intervention

Distressed Communities Index (DCI) scores

Outcome

Long-term survival / clinical outcomeshard clinical

Distressed community index scores are associated with worse long-term survival after surgical aortic valve replacement, suggesting a role for DCI in risk stratification.

Main Result

Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%

Abstract

These findings reveal that distressed DCI scores correlate with worse clinical outcomes post-SAVR. These survival disparities highlight a need for improved patient care and suggest that DCI could be a useful tool for better risk stratification and postdischarge planning to improve outcomes for high-risk populations.