Left ventricular myocardial work for the prediction of postoperative outcomes in patients with bicuspid aortic stenosis

Chronic elevation of left ventricular (LV) afterload contributes to adverse LV remodeling and myocardial impairment in bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). Incorporating LV afterload into global longitudinal strain (GLS) analysis, myocardial work facilitates early detection of LV dysfunction. The present study was to evaluate myocardial work in BAV patients with severe AS undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and to evaluate its prognostic impact on early postoperative outcomes. Between January 2021 and March 2022, BAV patients with severe AS scheduled for SAVR were included and underwent comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography. Quantification of LV myocardial work was performed to obtain LV global work index (GWI), global constructive work (GCW), global wasted work (GWW), and global work efficiency (GWE). Clinical outcome was defined as a composite of major cardiovascular events including mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, acute kidney injury, low cardiac output syndrome and vascular complications during hospitalization or within 30 days after operation. Among 103 BAV patients with severe AS undergoing SAVR (mean age of 65 ± 9 years, 57.3% male), 22 experienced postoperative major cardiovascular events. BAV patients with major cardiovascular events demonstrated lower LV GWI (P < 0.001) and GCW (P = 0.002) along with elder age (P = 0.030), decreased LVGLS (P = 0.026) and right ventricular longitudinal strain (P = 0.019), and higher prevalence of abnormal average E/e’ ratio (P = 0.029) than those without major events. Decreased LV GWI and GCW was independently associated with the occurrence of major cardiovascular events (P < 0.01 for adjusted OR). Multivariable logistic regression model including LV GWI demonstrated superior power than the model including LVGLS and yielded best discrimination for BAV patients with and without major cardiovascular events during early postoperative period. Echocardiography-based LV myocardial work overcomes the limitations of LVGLS and presents as a promising novel index for the early detection of functional myocardial damage and the optimization of intervention timing among BAV patients with severe AS.