A new non-invasive index for prognosis evaluation in patients with aortic stenosis.

The global left ventricular (LV) contractility index, dσ*/dt measures the maximal rate of change in pressure-normalized LV wall stress. We aim to describe the trend of dσ*/dt in differing severity of aortic stenosis (AS) with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and the association of dσ*/dt with clinical outcomes in moderate AS and severe AS. We retrospectively studied a total of 1738 patients with AS (550 mild AS, 738 moderate AS, 450 severe AS) and preserved LVEF ≥ 50% diagnosed from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2015.