The following is the summary of “Prognostic Value of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis Who Underwent Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation,” published in the January 2023 issue of Cardiovascular Disease by Nabeta, et al.

There is an increased risk of cardiovascular events in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The frequency and prognostic consequences of NAFLD among patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) are unknown, even though the link between NAFLD and aortic valve sclerosis has been established. Furthermore, the correlation between NAFLD and the presence of severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has not been investigated. Therefore, researchers looked into NAFLD’s role in the prognosis of AS patients, both those with and without significant TR.

The study comprised 538 patients (mean age 80 ± 7 years; 49.6% men) with non-contrast CT scans performed before TAVI between 2007 and 2019. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was determined to exist if the attenuation ratio of the liver to the spleen was less than 1.0 on non-contrast computed tomography. A total of 118 patients (21.9% of the sample) had NAFLD. Patients with NAFLD and those without showed no discernible differences in pulmonary arterial pressure, right atrial pressure, or the prevalence of significant TR. A total of 224 patients (41%) passed away during a median follow-up period of 47 months (interquartile range, 20-70 months). 

Patients with NAFLD who were given TAVI had a 1.32 times greater risk of dying from any cause than patients without NAFLD (hazard ratio 1.32, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.79, P=0.07). In conclusion, the prevalence of significant TR and clinical outcomes were similar in patients with and without NAFLD among patients with severe AS who underwent TAVI.

Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002914922010438