Impact of severe aortic stenosis on quality of life.

Introduction: Among individuals ≥ 65 years old, aortic stenosis is highly prevalent and the number of cases is expected to increase in the coming decades, due to the increased life expectancy. Nevertheless, the actual aortic stenosis burden is not well known in population settings and the impact of aortic stenosis on quality of life has not been studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate aortic stenosis impact on health-related quality of life in patients > 65 years old.

Methods: An epidemiological case-control study was carried out to compare quality of life in patients ≥65 years old with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. Demographical and clinical information was prospectively obtained and quality of life information was collected with the Short Form Health Survey_v2 (SF-12) questionnaire. The association between quality of life and aortic stenosis was determined using multiple logistic regression models.

Results: Patients with severe aortic stenosis self-perceived worse quality of life on all dimensions and summary components of the SF-12 questionnaire. In the final multiple logistic regression model a significant inverse association was observed between the dimensions 'physical role' and 'social role' (p = 0.002 and p = 0.005) and an association close to significance with 'physical role' (p = 0.052) of the SF-12 questionnaire.

Conclusion: The use of quality of life scales allows the assessment of the impact of aortic stenosis on quality of life and may improve the therapeutic approach to severe aortic stenosis, providing evidence for patient-centered care.