Cardiac Damage in Early Aortic Stenosis: Is the Valve to Blame?

Background Despite the close association between aortic stenosis (AS) and cardiac damage (CD), it is unclear if CD is limited to patients with moderate and severe AS and which factors affect its progression. Although altered valvular hemodynamic status may drive the development of CD in AS, commonly occurring comorbidities may contribute. Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with CD in mild AS. Methods This retrospective study included 9,611 patients with mild AS (peak aortic valve velocity [Vmax] 2-3 m/s and description of abnormal aortic valve) from 2010 through 2021. CD was staged using the Genereux classification. Results All but 20% (n = 1,901; stage 0) of patients with mild AS demonstrated CD: 1,613 (17%) stage 1, 4,843 (50%) stage 2, 891 (9%) stage 3, and 363 (4%) stage 4. Patients with higher stages had more comorbidities (hypertension, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic pulmonary disease, and diabetes mellitus) but had valvular hemodynamic status similar to those without CD. CD stage did not worsen with higher Vmax range (stage >1 in 64% with Vmax <2.5 m/s vs 61% with Vmax ≥2.5 m/s) but increased with the number of comorbidities, with stage >1 occurring in 50%, 53%, 60%, 66%, 72%, and 73% in the presence of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 or more comorbidities, respectively. Conclusions CD was highly prevalent in patients with mild AS. Among patients with mild AS, there was no relationship between the degree of CD and AS severity; instead, CD was highly associated with comorbidities.