Comparison of patients with and without periaortic VT
We compared the clinical background data of the patients with periaortic VT (periaortic VT group; N=3) and those without periaortic VT (control group; N=106). (Table3) The type of valve (mechanical valve: 66.7% vs. 54.7%, respectively; P =1.0), primary aortic valve disease (AS: 33.3% vs. 57.6%, P =0.6; AR: 33.3% vs. 25.5%, P =1.0; and IE: 33.3% vs. 16.0%, P =0.4, respectively), and time since AVR (12.3±6.7 years vs. 10.9±8.5 years, respectively; P =0.8) were not significantly different between the groups. Other clinical factors, including age, male sex, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and atrial fibrillation were also not significantly different between them. Similarly, the use of beta-blockers, ACEIs/ARBs, amiodarone, and anti-aldosterone drugs group 1 was not significantly different between the groups.
Echocardiography revealed that a peak aortic jet velocity (AV Vmax), Aortic Valve Area (AVA) and rate of paravalvular leakage (moderate-to-severe) were not different between the groups. (Table 4). However, TTE revealed that the periaortic VT group had significantly lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), wider interventricular septum (IVSd), and larger left ventricular internal dimension in systole (LVDs) than the control group (56.0±10.1 vs. 65.9±7.9 %, P =0.04; 14.6±3.4 vs. 12.0±2.0 mm, P =0.03; and 36.0±5.6 vs. 27.7±5.8 mm,P =0.02; respectively).