The impact of global left ventricular afterload on left ventricular reverse remodeling after aortic valve replacement.

Background: Conventional indices such as prosthetic valve effective orifice area (EOA) or transvalvular pressure gradients (TPG) may be unreliable in predicting left ventricular (LV) reverse remodeling after aortic valve replacement (AVR). We hypothesized that the global LV afterload, including valvular and arterial impedance, could influence LV reverse remodeling after AVR.

Methods: Twenty-three consecutive aortic-stenosis patients (mean age, 76 ± 6.