Prolonged use of RAAS inhibitors may lead to better survival after surgical aortic valve replacement in patients with severe aortic stenosis, a population-based study shows.

Swedish cardiologists report that older adults who underwent surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) had a 13% lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events when prescribed ACEIs or ARBs compared to those without RAAS inhibitor treatment.

This outcome was primarily driven by a 21% reduced risk of all-cause death rather than a lower incidence of MI, stroke or cardiovascular death.

But the authors stressed that causal association “cannot be ascertained” due to the study’s observational design.