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Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Patients with Concomitant Severe Aortic Stenosis and Coronary Artery Disease: A Closer Look to the Unresolved Perplexity.

ABSTRACT: Degenerative aortic stenosis (AS) and coronary artery disease (CAD) are the most prevalent cardiovascular diseases in developed countries, and they coexist in up to 50% of patients. The pathophysiological rationale behind concomitant AS and CAD is discussed in detail in this review, together with prognostic implications. Detecting CAD in patients with AS may be challenging, as AS may mask the existence and symptoms of CAD. The safety and reliability of invasive and non-invasive physiological assessment for epicardial coronary disease are also a matter of debate. Finally, the selection and timing of optimal treatment of CAD in patients with severe AS are still unclear. Given the aging of the population, the increase in the prevalence of AS, and the ongoing paradigm shift in its treatment, controversies in the diagnosis and treatment of CAD in the setting of AS are deemed to grow in importance. In this paper, we present contemporary issues in the diagnosis and management of CAD in patients with severe AS who are transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) candidates and provide perspective on the treatment approach.

SUBMITTER: Di Gioia G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8070187 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Background As younger patients are being considered for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), the assessment and treatment of concomitant coronary artery disease is taking on increased importance. Methods and Results Thirteen contemporary lower-risk patients with TAVI with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and moderate-severe coronary lesions were included. Patients underwent assessment of coronary hemodynamics in the presence of severe AS (pre-TAVI), in the absence of severe AS (immediately post-TAVI), and at longer-term follow-up (6 months post-TAVI). Fractional flow reserve decreased from 0.85 (0.76-0.88) pre-TAVI to 0.79 (0.74-0.83) post-TAVI, and then to 0.71 (0.65-0.77) at 6-month follow-up (P<0.001 for all comparisons). Conversely, instantaneous wave-free ratio was not significantly different: 0.82 (0.80-0.90) pre-TAVI, 0.83 (0.77-0.88) post-TAVI, and 0.83 (0.73-0.89) at 6 months (P=0.735). These changes are explained by the underlying coronary flow. Hyperemic whole-cycle coronary flow (fractional flow reserve flow) increased from 26.36 cm/s (23.82-31.82 cm/s) pre-TAVI to 30.78 cm/s (29.70-34.68 cm/s) post-TAVI (P=0.012), to 40.20 cm/s (32.14-50.00 cm/s) at 6-month follow-up (P<0.001 for both comparisons). Resting flow during the wave-free period of diastole was not significantly different: 25.48 cm/s (21.12-33.65 cm/s) pre-TAVI, 24.54 cm/s (20.74-27.88 cm/s) post-TAVI, and 25.89 cm/s (22.57-28.96 cm/s) at 6 months (P=0.500). Conclusions TAVI acutely improves whole-cycle hyperemic coronary flow, with ongoing sustained improvements at longer-term follow-up. This enhanced response to hyperemic stimuli appears to make fractional flow reserve assessment less suitable for patients with severe AS. Conversely, resting diastolic flow is not significantly influenced by the presence of severe AS. Resting indices of coronary stenosis severity, therefore, appear to be more appropriate for this patient population, although large-scale prospective randomized trials will be required to determine the role of coronary physiology in patients with severe AS.

Project description:More than half of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) over 70 years old have coronary artery disease (CAD). Exertional angina is often present in AS-patients, even in the absence of significant CAD, as a result of oxygen supply/demand mismatch and exercise-induced myocardial ischemia. Moreover, persistent myocardial ischemia leads to extensive myocardial fibrosis and subsequent coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) which is defined as reduced coronary vasodilatory capacity below ischemic threshold. Therefore, angina, as well as noninvasive stress tests, have a low specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) for the assessment of epicardial coronary stenosis severity in AS-patients. Moreover, in symptomatic patients with severe AS exercise testing is even contraindicated. Given the limitations of noninvasive stress tests, coronary angiography remains the standard examination for determining the presence and severity of CAD in AS-patients, although angiography alone has poor accuracy in the evaluation of its functional severity. To overcome this limitation, the well-established invasive indices for the assessment of coronary stenosis severity, such as fractional flow reserve (FFR) and instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR), are now in focus, especially in the contemporary era with the rapid increment of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for the treatment of AS-patients. TAVR induces an immediate decrease in hyperemic microcirculatory resistance and a concomitant increase in hyperemic flow velocity, whereas resting coronary hemodynamics remain unaltered. These findings suggest that FFR may underestimate coronary stenosis severity in AS-patients, whereas iFR as the non-hyperemic index is independent of the AS severity. However, because resting coronary hemodynamics do not improve immediately after TAVR, the coronary vasodilatory capacity in AS-patients treated by TAVR remain impaired, and thus the iFR may overestimate coronary stenosis severity in these patients. The optimal method for evaluating myocardial ischemia in patients with AS and co-existing CAD has not yet been fully established, and this important issue is under further investigation. This review is focused on challenges, limitations, and future perspectives in the functional assessment of coronary stenosis severity in these patients, bearing in mind the complexity of coronary physiology in the presence of this valvular heart disease.

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Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Patients with Concomitant Severe Aortic Stenosis and Coronary Artery Disease: A Closer Look to the Unresolved Perplexity.

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