2.1 Study population
This was a single-center case-control study. The inclusion criteria were as follows: a total of 62 patients with severe AS who underwent TAVR at the Department of Cardiology, Second Affiliated Hospital of the Army Medical University from December 2020 to September 2021 and who had completed CTA with FEOPS preoperatively and within 1 month postoperatively were selected. The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients with previous AVR; (2) patients with preoperative high-degree atrioventricular block or persistent complete left bundle branch block; (3) patients with preoperative permanent pacemaker implantation; (4) patients with missing preoperative and postoperative electrocardiograms or ambulatory electrocardiograms to assess cardiac activity; (5) FEOPS could not be successfully modelled. A total of 56 patients were eventually enrolled in this study. This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of the Army Medical University (2020-research no. 068-03). The signing of the informed consent form was waived with the approval of the Ethics Committee.
2.2 TAVR surgical procedure
All patients underwent transfemoral valve replacement under general anesthesia in the hybrid operating room or cardiac catheterization laboratory with transoesophageal echocardiography monitoring. Among a total of 56 patients, 13 received the Venus-A Plus valve and 43 received the Venus-A valve. The decision regarding the intraoperative balloon pre-expansion, as well as the selection of the balloon and valve model, was discussed by the heart valve interventional team. Following the release of the valve, an immediate aortic root angiography and TEE were conducted to evaluate the impact of prosthetic valve release. The operator conducted a comprehensive analysis of the results, taking into account the degree of aortic regurgitation, the pressure difference between the left ventricle and the ascending aorta, the risk of coronary obstruction, and the characteristics of the calcification distribution.
2.3 Conduction block subgroup
Based on previous reports of excessive pacemaker implantation following TAVR, in the present study, conduction block is defined as the occurrence of postoperative and persistent manifestation of high atrioventricular block or persistent complete left bundle branch block during follow-up. All patients underwent electrocardiography before TAVR, postoperatively, both before discharge and one month after discharge. In accordance with the VARC-3 criteria set forth by the Valve Academic Research Consortium in 2021, the electrocardiograms of all patients were subjected to analysis. The results indicated that 21 patients developed postoperative complete left bundle branch block, three patients developed second-degree and higher atrioventricular block, and five patients underwent permanent pacemaker implantation. Of these, seven were found to have converted from complete left bundle branch block to a normal electrocardiogram before discharge and during follow-up. Accordingly, in the present study, persistent complete left bundle branch block and high-degree atrioventricular block were employed as outcome events, with a total of 17 patients exhibiting postoperative PCB.
2.4 Clinical information data collection
The baseline patient information, electrocardiograms, pre- and postoperative echocardiograms, intraoperative aortic root angiograms, aortic balloon dilatation procedures, and post-valve release angiograms were extracted from the hospital's electronic medical record system for analysis. A Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) score was calculated. Baseline patient information was recorded, including sex, age, body mass index, and the prevalence of chronic diseases. The pre- and postoperative electrocardiogram and echocardiogram results were obtained for all patients by experienced electrocardiographers and ultrasonographers, respectively.
2.5 FEOPS finite element analysis
A three-dimensional visual simulation of the aortic root was constructed using the FEOPS finite element analysis platform based on the preoperative CTA images of the aortic root. The postoperative CTA images of the patients were incorporated into the platform to obtain the final model of the role of the prosthetic valves in the FEOPS visualization model. This allows for the direct analysis of the depth of implantation of the valves, the perivalvular leakage index, and the contact pressure index (CPI). However, CPI were not analysed in seven patients due to poor right ventricular contrast enhancement in some patients. The distance from the distal end of the metal stent on the uncinate sinus side to the ipsilateral sinus floor, as determined from the postoperative CTA, was defined as the depth of valve implantation. The region of interest was defined as the conduction system at the inferior edge of the septal membrane. The percentage of the area where the stent was predicted to exert a pressure greater than 0.1 MPa in this region was used as the CPI. (Figure 1)
2.6 CT scanning and analysis
Patients underwent aortic CTA examination pre- and post-surgery, and CTA imaging of the aortic root was performed in our hospital (128-row dual-source CT DEFINITION FLASH; Siemens, Germany). The scanning method comprised retrospective electrocardiographic gated scanning with a layer thickness of 0.75 mm and an increment of 0.4 mm, and encompassed the aortic root and the entire aorta. The results were stored on a dedicated hard drive and analyzed using 3mensio software. Images were captured of 30% of the ventricular systole and used to determine the long and short diameters, mean diameters, perimeter, and areas of the annulus, sinotubular junction, and left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT), as well as the angle of aortic angulation and the leaflet calcification score. The threshold value for calculating calcification was set at 850 hundredths of a millimeter. The aortic valve was classified according to Sievers staging criteria, which defines the bicuspid aortic valve. Valve oversize ratio = (artificial valve circumference/CT-measured valve circumference ‒ 1) × 100%. LVOT coverage ratio = (1 ‒ artificial valve circumference/CT-measured LVOT circumference) × 100%. Where the membranous interventricular septum (MS) length refers to the distance between the annular plane of the aortic valve and the highest point of the muscular septum measured in a standard coronal view. The difference between membranous interventricular septum length and implantation depth (ΔMSID) was calculated as follows: ΔMSID = valve implantation depth ‒ MS length.
2.7 Statistical analysis
Data were analyzed using the statistical software package SPSS 27.0. Data that exhibited a normal distribution were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation ( ±s), whereas those that did not conform to a normal distribution were expressed as M (Q1,Q3). Independent sample t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests were employed for comparisons between groups. In the case of count data, the figures were expressed as cases (%). In instances where the total number of cases was less than 20, cases (ratios) were analyzed using Pearson’s Chi-squared test, continuity-corrected Chi-squared test, or Fisher’s exact probability method test according to the sample size and the theoretical frequency of the grouped cases. The PCB data obtained following TAVR were classified into distinct subgroups, and the baseline levels of patients, electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, aortic root CTAs, and the results of finite element analysis of FEOPS were compared between the overall patient cohort and the subgroups of bilobed and trilobed valves, respectively. Following comparison between the two groups, variables with P < 0.05 were introduced into a multifactorial logistic regression model for analysis of the independent risk factors for PCB. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed to assess the predictive value of the risk factors that were significant in the unifactorial analysis of PCB. The maximum Yoden index of the CPI value was identified as the predictive threshold for the CPI value. With this threshold, the predictive accuracy of the FEOPS finite element analysis was grouped, with a single factor analysis conducted to ascertain the predictive value influencing the accuracy of this model. A univariate analysis was employed to ascertain the factors influencing the accuracy of the model. All results were subjected to a two-sided test with a test level α = 0.05, and differences were considered statistically significant at P < 0.05.