Baseline characteristics
A total number of 134 patients with severe AR were enrolled. The Mean
age was 73.1±6.4 years and 25.4% were female (Table 1). The mean risk
score according to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) was 9.8±5.3%,
while 131 patients (97.8%) were in New York Heart Association (NYHA)
functional class III or IV. Four patients had previous cardiac surgery.
Five patients had undergone a previous permanent pacemaker. In the
present study, morbidity rates were higher for chronic lung disease
(n=73, 54.5%), peripheral vascular disease (n=64, 47.8%), and
cerebrovascular diseases (n=67, 50.0%).