Identification of Anemia for Predicting Mid-Term Prognosis After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Japanese Patients　― Insights From the OCEAN-TAVI Registry ―

Background: Patients with anemia have a poor prognosis following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Given the unique distribution of hemoglobin levels in the Japanese cohort, the optimal cut-off hemoglobin value may help stratify Japanese patients’ mortality following TAVI. Methods and Results: Data of patients who underwent TAVI were collected from the prospective multicenter Optimized transCathEter vAlvular iNtervention (OCEAN)-TAVI Registry. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to calculate a hemoglobin cut-off value to stratify 2-year mortality following TAVI. In all, 2,588 patients (mean [±SD] age 84.4±5.2 years, 795 men) were included in the study. Of these patients, 909 (35.1%) had anemia, which was defined as hemoglobin <10.9 g/dL for men and <10.4 g/dL for women. The presence of anemia, uniquely defined for the Japanese cohort, was independently associated with 2-year mortality following TAVI, with an odds ratio of 1.77 (95% confidence interval 1.39–2.25) adjusted for 14 other clinical variables. Conclusions: The existence of anemia, uniquely defined for the Japanese cohort, was associated with mid-term mortality following TAVI.