LAUSR

Data about the epidemiology of valvular heart disease (VHD) is scarce. The increasing aging of the population may cause an augmented prevalence of VHD, with a great number of comorbidities that conveys a higher surgical risk. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of VHD in the patients attended at our institution from 2007 until 2017 and to describe the main characteristics of this population. We used a new tool based on EHRead Technology to extract clinical relevant information from Electronic Health Records, designed for descriptive and predictive big data analysis. All medical reports generated at the outpatient clinic, ER or hospitalization ward were examined. Patients with a diagnosis of moderate or severe VHD were selected. The prevalence of VHD was also estimated in 2 quintiles, from 2008 until Feb 2013 and from March 2013 until Dec 2017. The total prevalence of VHD in our population was 1.04% (n=3431). Mitral regurgitation was the most frequent valvular lesion (0.4%, n=1318), followed by aortic stenosis (0.3%, n=967) and aortic regurgitation (0.28%, n=938). There was a clear female predominance (63%), and the median age was 76.4. In the 1st quintile the prevalence of VHD was 0.25%, and increased to 0.79% in the 2nd. This trend was consistent in all type of valvular lesions. The prevalence of comorbidities was higher than in other epidemiological studies (Table). Prevalence of comorbidities Severe MR Severe AS Severe AR Euro Heart Valve Survey Hypertension 54,5% 69,1% 47,9% 49% Dyslipidemia 32,2% 40,6% 27,4% 35% Diabetes Mellitus 28,0% 31,5% 16,4% 15% Smoking (current) 5,6% 5,4% 13,7% 39% Coronary heart disease 12,0% 17,0% 12,3% 13% Stroke 7,0% 8,9% 5,5% 7% Chronic kidney disease 18,9% 16,9% 20,5% 15% Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 11,2% 9,9% 11,0% 15% MR: Mitral regurgitation, AS: aortic stenosis, AR: aortic regurgitation, MS: mitral stenosis. Sex Distribution The older age and greater number of comorbidities seen in our series over the past ten years, compared to the Euroheart Valve Survey reinforce the idea that the percutaneous valvular therapies should play a major role in the treatment of patients with VHD. Although, the prevalence of VHD may be underestimated in our population, due to the methodology, it reflects an ever-growing pathology in an older and sicker population.