Glaser N, Persson M, Franco‐Cereceda A, et al. - Findings demonstrate a lower life expectancy post-aortic valve replacement (AVR), compared with the general population. An elevated relative risk of cardiovascular death accounted for lower survival following AVR.

• According to prior studies, lower life expectancy is seen in patients who had surgical AVR vs the general population.

• In this study using the SWEDEHEART register and other national health‐data registers, a total of 33,018 patients who had primary surgical AVR in Sweden between 1997 and 2018, with or without coronary artery bypass grafting, were analyzed.

• A mean follow‐up of 7.3 years revealed deaths of 14,237 (43%) patients.

• The cumulative incidence of death due to cardiovascular, cancer‐associated, or other causes was estimated to be 23.5%, 8.3%, and 11.6%, respectively, at 10 years, and 42.8%, 12.8%, and 23.8%, respectively, at 20 years.

• For cardiovascular, cancer‐related, and other causes of death, the estimated standardized mortality ratios were 1.79, 1.00, and 1.08, respectively.