Prognostic value of left atrial stiffness in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Aim: This study was performed to evaluate the association between left atrial (LA) stiffness and outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Methods and Results: This study involved 279 patients with aortic stenosis (AS) who underwent TAVI at Kumamoto University Hospital between 2015 and 2023. During a median follow-up of 468 days (interquartile range: 258–825 days), 42 deaths occurred. Pre-TAVI echocardiography showed that the LA stiffness index (E/e′ ratio/LA strain during the reservoir phase [LASr]) was significantly higher in the all-cause death group than in the survival group (2.80 ± 2.56 vs. 1.70 ± 1.23, p