Gender differences in outcomes following aortic valve replacement surgery

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess outcome differences in aortic valve replacement based on gender.MethodsA study from a ten-year hospitalization cohort with prospective data collection was conducted. Included in the study were patients undergoing aortic valve replacement surgery between March 1997 and July 2003 (N = 406). There were 223 males and 183 females included in the study. The study examined 41 potential confounding risk factors and 16 outcome variables.ResultsUnivariate analysis on potential confounding risk factors revealed a significant difference between males and females on 12 factors. Co-morbid disease, hypertension, current vascular disease, aortic insufficiency, body surface area, blood added on pump, and annulus size significantly correlated with age. The correlation resulted in five confounding risk factors: age, tobacco history, obesity, left ventricular hypertrophy, and creatinine level. Logistic regression analysis found that after controlling for age, tobacco history, obesity, left ventricular hypertrophy, and creatinine level, there is no difference between males and females on outcomes following aortic valve replacement. Additionally, choice of vascular prosthesis had no impact on post-operative outcomes.ConclusionAfter controlling for confounding variables, similar outcomes were observed for males and females undergoing aortic valve replacement.