Statin therapy is not associated with improved overall survival after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have indicated that there may be a survival advantage for patients on statins after surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). However, the role of adjunct statin following TAVR remains ill-defined. In this study, we aim define the effect that statin have on outcomes after TAVR, particularly in regard to statin dose intensity. Methods and Results: A retrospective chart review case-control study of 342 consecutive patients who underwent a TAVR for severe aortic stenosis was performed to determine the effect statin use, stratified by intensity of lipid-lowering effect, on outcomes after TAVR. In a well match patient cohort, the use of statin of any intensity was not associated with any significant difference in overall survival at 1 month (p=.635), 6 months (p=.814), 1 year (p = .845) or 2 years (p = .926). However, the use of statin did decrease in the incidence of stroke or TIA in the in-hospital and discharge to 30 days post-TAVR time periods (p = .001 and .004, respectively). Conclusion: This study gives evidence to suggest that there is no association between statins of any lipid lower intensity and improved overall survival. However, a statistical significant trend towards a reduction in the incidence of perioperative stroke or TIA was observed.