Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography in Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis

Importance: Guidelines recommend the use of dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) in patients with low-gradient aortic stenosis (AS) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) <50%. However, a paucity of DSE data exists when LVEF >35%.

Objective: To examine the diagnostic accuracy of DSE in patients with low-gradient AS with a wide range of LVEF and to examine the interaction between the diagnostic accuracy of DSE and LVEF.

Design, setting, and participants: Patients with mean gradient <40 mm Hg, aortic valve area <1.0 cm², and stroke volume index ≤35 mL/m² undergoing DSE and cardiac computer tomography (C-CT) were identified from 3 prospectively collected patient cohorts and stratified according to LVEF: LVEF<35%, LVEF 35% to 50%, and LVEF>50%.

Exposure: Dobutamine stress echocardiography and C-CT were performed on patients with low-gradient AS.

Main outcomes and measures: Severe AS was defined as aortic valve calcification score ≥2,000 arbitrary units (AU) among men and ≥1,200 AU for women on C-CT.

Results: Of 221 patients included in the study, 78 (35%) presented with LVEF <35%, 67 (30%) with LVEF 35% to 50%, and 76 (34%) with LVEF >50%. Mean-gradient and aortic valve peak velocity during DSE showed significant diagnostic heterogeneity between LVEF groups, being most precise when LVEF <35% (both areas under the curve [AUC] = 0.90), albeit with optimal thresholds of 30 mm Hg and 377 cm/sec and a limited diagnostic yield in patients with LVEF ≥35% (AUC = 0.67 and 0.66 in LVEF 35% to 50% and AUC = 0.65 and 0.60 in LVEF ≥50%). Using guideline thresholds led to a sensitivity/specificity of 49%/84% for all patients with LVEF <50%.

Conclusion and relevance: While DSE is safe and leads to an increase in stroke volume in patients with low-gradient AS regardless of LVEF, the association between DSE gradients and AS severity assessed by C-CT demonstrates important heterogeneity depending on LVEF, with the highest accuracy in patients with LVEF <35%.