Male-female differences in aortic valve and combined aortic valve/coronary surgery: a national cohort study in the Netherlands

Objective The outcome of female patients after adult cardiac surgery has been reported to be less favourable compared with the outcome of male patients. This study compares men with women with respect to patient and procedural characteristics and early mortality in a contemporary national cohort of patients who underwent aortic valve (AV) and combined aortic valve/coronary (CABG/AV) surgery. Methods All patients who underwent AV (n=8717, 56% male) or a combined CABG/AV surgery (n=5867, 67% male) in the Netherlands between January 2007 and December 2011 were included. Results In both groups, women were generally older than men (p Conclusions There are substantial male-female differences in patient presentation and procedural aspects in isolated AV and concomitant CABG/AV surgery in the Netherlands. Further studies are necessary to explore the mechanisms underlying the observed differences. In addition, the observation that standard risk scores perform worse in women warrants exploration of male-female specific risk models for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.Brief title: