Clinical implications of cerebral microbleeds in patients who undergo transcatheter aortic valve replacement

Background: The prognostic implications of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in patients who undergo transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between the presence of CMBs and adverse outcomes post-TAVR.

Methods: In this single-center retrospective study, we included 124 patients who underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging before TAVR. The outcomes of interest were the subsequent incidences of stroke and all-cause death or admission for heart failure.

Results: CMBs were identified in 32.2 % of the included patients. The median follow-up duration was 954 (interquartile range, 553-1306) days. The incidence of stroke after TAVR was comparable between patients with and without CMBs. Conversely, all-cause death or admission for heart failure was significantly higher in patients with CMBs than in those without (log-rank P = 0.010). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the presence of CMBs was independently correlated with the occurrence of all-cause death or admission for heart failure after adjusting for other prognostic predictors (hazard ratio 4.016, 95 % confidence interval 1.572-10.259, P = 0.007).

Conclusion: The presence of CMBs predicts the incidence of all-cause death or admission for heart failure in patients undergoing TAVR. Evaluating CMBs could provide useful information for post-TAVR management.