Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Andreas F. We investigated the sex-related difference in characteristics and 2-year outcomes after surgical aortic valve replacement SAVR by propensity-score matching PSM. The PSM was performed to assess the impact of sex on the SAVR outcomes, yielding males and females with comparable baseline characteristics. Females had a lower body mass index median Furthermore, females required smaller valves median diameter Despite females presenting with a significantly higher surgical risk profile, 2-year outcomes following SAVR were comparable between males and females.
However, a precise understanding of specific sex-related differences in baseline characteristics and post-SAVR long-term outcomes and safety remains a matter of debate [ 2 , 3 ]. Besides, factors such as advanced age, greater frailty, smaller body size and the presence of more non-atherosclerotic comorbidities place females in a high-risk category for SAVR [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]. Several studies indicated that women undergoing SAVR experience worse short-term outcomes, including more in-hospital and day deaths, more vascular complications and blood transfusions and increased length of hospital stays [ 2 , 7 ] compared to men [ 2 , 3 , 6 , 8 ].
Although comparable long-term survival after SAVR was observed among both sexes [ 8 , 9 ], extensive research is imperative to elucidate the male-female differences in the baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes to optimize the treatment for aortic valve diseases. Written informed consent was obtained from each patient before enrolment.
Exclusion criteria included prior myocarditis within 3 months before SAVR and a double valve procedure replacement and repair. The primary objective of the analysis was to compare baseline and procedural characteristics of male and female patients undergoing SAVR. The percentages were calculated based on the number of patients with valid data per parameter, i.
Propensity scores PS were calculated using a generalized linear model to assess the sex-specific effects male vs female. The ratio matching was performed using nearest neighbour matching with a calliper width equal to 0.
