Causes and timing of death during long-term follow-up after transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

This manuscript describes the findings of a retrospective analysis of 874 consecutive high risk or inoperable patients undergoing TAVR in three different centres, evaluating outcomes after up to three years of follow up. In-hospital mortality was 5%. Early mortality was strongly associated with the occurrence of procedural complications. The relative incidence of non-cardiovascular death increased with time to become the principal cause of mortality beyond 6 months and outnumbering cardiovascular mortality beyond 24 months. Cumulative mortality at three years was 31.5%. Baseline comorbidities, particularly COPD and renal impairment, had a major detrimental impact on long-term mortality.