Definitions and study endpoints
The data were extracted from our institutional Aortic Valve Registry, a
prospectively maintained clinical registry of all patients undergoing
AVR or repair at our institution and double-checked for accuracy (M.M.
and A.M.). All operative survivors were followed up regularly and
completed in 641 out of 652 patients (98.3%). All clinically gathered
data, including adverse events during follow-up and cause of death, were
registered and reported according to the standardized institutional
protocol.