Abstract
Background
Valvular heart disease (VHD) has been caught in two important cross-currents in recent decades: aging demography and the rise of multimodality imaging and transcatheter valve therapy. In this setting, we aim to identify the distribution, characteristics, and management of Chinese VHD patients according to age.
Methods
China Valvular Heart Disease Cohort Study (China-VHD) was conducted from March to September 2019 in 46 centers over China. It included prospectively 12331 adults with native moderate or severe VHD, of which we described the distribution, management, and in-hospital events according to age (18–44, 45–54, 55–64, 65–74, ≥75). Multivariate Logistic regression was employed to investigate the impact of age on in-hospital events composed of in-hospital mortality, acute heart failure, and stoke.
Results
In Chinese VHD population, overall percentage peaked in 55–64 year olds. The frequency of multivalvular heart disease (MVHD) saw an increasing trend with age (p for trend <0.001). Of single valvular heart disease, mitral regurgitation (MR) was the most frequent left-sided VHD followed by aortic regurgitation (AR), aortic stenosis (AS), and mitral stenosis (MS). AS frequency significantly grew with age (p for trend = 0.02) while AR peaked in 18–44 year olds and fluctuated at a lower level in the older population. In contrast, mitral valve disease (MS, MR, and mixed mitral valve disease) was most frequent in 45–54 year olds and dropped with age (p for trend all <0.001). Noteworthily, all aortic valve disease was notably frequent in men whereas mitral valve disease and MVHD more common in women. Similar to developed countries, degenerative etiology rose steeply while rheumatic and congenital origin fell with age. Regarding management, surgical valve replacement rate was similar in age groups lower than 75 years old with increasing frequency of concomitant CABG. No matter aortic or mitral, the percentage of bio-prosthesis rocketed after 65 years (aortic: 74.7%, mitral: 70.6%). In multivariate logistic regression, covariables included age, sex, BMI, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, aortic disease, cardiomyopathy, COPD, NYHA class and valvular intervention. Compared to patients younger than 45, in-hospital events significantly higher in patients over 75 only (OR: 1.69 [95% CI: 1.07–2.66], p<0.02). Moreover, women showed a lower risk of in-hospital events (OR: 0.78 [95% CI: 0.63–0.96], p<0.01).
Age distribution of VHD
Conclusion
Age plays a crucial role in valvular heart disease, best illustrated in AS. Unlike the western world, AR and MR are more frequent than AS but show a slightly decreasing trend with age. As expected, degenerative etiology is becoming more prevalent whereas rheumatism decreases. Age over 75 and male are associated with growing in-hospital events. Degenerative VHD thus present an important public-health burden.
Acknowledgement/Funding
Innovation project of Chinese academy of medical science
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