Aims: The assessment of aortic stenosis (AS) severity is still challenging, especially in abnormal hemodynamic conditions. Left ventricular ejection time (LVET) has been historically related to AS severity, but it also depends on heart rate (HR) and systolic function. Our aim was to verify if correcting LVET (LVET index, LVETI) by its determinants is helpful for the assessment of AS severity, irrespective of hemodynamic conditions. Methods and results: We retrospectively studied 152 patients with AS and 378 patients with heart failure and no-AS. At multivariate analysis, LVET (assessed with pulsed-wave Doppler) showed a strong correlation with stroke volume index (SVI) (Beta 0.354; p < 0.001), HR (−0.385; p < 0.001), AS grade (Beta 0.301; p < 0.001) and, less significantly, ejection fraction (LVEF) (Beta 0.108; p = 0.001). AS grade was confirmed to be a major determinant of LVET, irrespective of forward flow (assessed by SVI and transvalvular flow rate) and LVEF (above and below 50%). A regression equation was derived to index LVET (LVETI) to HR and SVI. By using this formula, LVETI detected severe AS more accurately (AUC 0.812, p < 0.001) than LVET alone (AUC 0.755, p for difference = 0.005). Similar results were observed in patients with abnormal flow status. As an exploratory finding, we observed that the highest tertile of LVETI was associated with a higher rate of aortic valve interventions during follow-up. Conclusions: LVETI correlates with AS severity better than uncorrected LVET, independently from hemodynamic conditions, and may help to discriminate severe AS. This finding needs confirmation in larger prospective multicenter studies.
Keywords: aortic stenosis; echocardiography; ejection time; hemodynamic; low-flow low-gradient aortic stenosis; stroke volume; transvalvular flow rate.