Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging Evaluation of the Cognitive Impairment in Aortic Valve Replacement (ARTiCO)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate changes in cognitive performance in the early postoperative (1 month) and late (1 year) postoperative period in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (SVAo) with surgery (SVA\_Q) or transcatheter aortic valve implant (TAVI), by neuropsychological study (NRP), structural Brain Magnetic Resonance (sMRI) and functional MRI (fMRI). The specific objectives are: (1) to compare the early and late clinical-functional consequences with NRP study in both groups; (2) to compare the occurrence of cerebral clinical events during follow-up; (3) to quantify and compare the appearance of silent lesions in the early postoperative period and late of SVAo with sMRI with respect to the baseline MRI in both groups; (4) study with fMRI changes in the activity and functional connectivity and correlate them with the NRP findings in all patients in the early and late phase in comparison with the basal MRI. METHODOLOGY: Prospective longitudinal, unicentric, nonrandomized cohort study of consecutive patients\> 70 years, with indication for SVAo and intermediate and high surgical risk. One month before surgery will be performed an sMRI and fMRI and a baseline NRP study. One month after surgery, sMRI, fMRI and NRP study will be performed to assess the appearance of new lesions, as well as changes in cognitive performance with respect to baseline cognitive status. One year later, sMRI, fMRI and NRP study will be performed to assess changes in cognitive status with respect to baseline and early postoperative. Response variables: changes in cognitive performance measured by a Global Cognitive Impairment Index and in cognitive status (normal vs. Mild Cognitive Impairment vs Moderate Impairment), number, size and location of new silent brain lesions, cerebral vascular clinical events, and changes in advanced neuroimaging (image by diffusion tensor (DTI), resting-state fMRI) and its relationship with cognitive changes.