Effect of Gender on Treatment and Outcomes in Severe Aortic Stenosis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of gender on operative rates and outcomes in men and women with severe aortic stenosis. An institutional echocardiographic database was used to identify all adult patients with severe aortic stenosis from 2004 through 2005. Only patients with class I indication for aortic valve replacement (AVR) during the period of follow-up were included in the study. Three hundred sixty-two patients were identified with severe aortic stenosis and class I indication for AVR (52% women). Overall operative rate for the cohort was 72%. In patients who underwent AVR, Kaplan–Meier survival rates were the same for men and women. Sixty-four percent of women versus 81% of men underwent AVR (p <0.001). After adjusting for multiple covariates, women had a 2.1-fold lower odds of undergoing AVR compared to men (p = 0.02). After matching for age and Society of Thoracic Surgery risk score, women underwent AVR at a 19% lower relative rate compared to men (p = 0.03); when stratified by gender, there was no difference in reasons for not undergoing AVR. In conclusion, despite similar outcomes after surgery, women with severe aortic stenosis are less likely than men to undergo AVR.