1Universitäres Herz- und Gefäßzentrum Hamburg Allgemeine und Interventionelle Kardiologie Hamburg, Deutschland; 2Universitäres Herz- und Gefäßzentrum Hamburg Klinik für Kardiologie Hamburg, Deutschland; 3Universitäres Herz- und Gefäßzentrum Hamburg Klinik und Poliklinik für Kardiologie Hamburg, Deutschland; 4Universitäres Herz- und Gefäßzentrum Hamburg Klinik und Poliklinik für Herz- und Gefäßchirurgie Hamburg, Deutschland
Background: Tricuspid regurgitation is a common bystander in patients with left-sided valvular heart disease such as mitral regurgitation (MR) or aortic stenosis (AS). Data on the prognostic impact of potential TR improvement after interventions for left sided valvar disease is scarce.
Objectives: This study aimed to assess incidence and prognostic value of TR improvement after left-sided valvular interventions (M-TEER and TAVI) using merged data from two prospective single-center registries.
Methods: The merged database included all consecutive patients with symptomatic left-sided valvular heart disease (MR or AS) undergoing either M-TEER or TAVI from 2008 until 2023 at University Heart Center Hamburg. For this study, we excluded patients with missing information on TR severity at baseline or discharge and patients lost to follow-up. The prognostic impact of baseline TR severity and TR improvement (baseline to discharge) was assessed using Kaplan-Meier estimates and stepwise Cox regression. TR improvement was defined as a reduction in TR severity at discharge by at least one grade compared to baseline in patients with ≥moderate TR at baseline. Kaplan-Meier estimates were calculated for all-cause mortality and the combined endpoint of all-cause mortality heart failure (HF) rehospitalization after 3 years.
Results: A total of 4,461 patients undergoing left-sided valvular interventions (M-TEER: N=663; TAVI: N=3,798) were eligible for study inclusion (age 81.0 years [IQR 76.2-84.7], 52.7% male). TR severity at baseline was none or mild in 70.9% (N=3,161), moderate in 19.4% (N=864), and severe in 9.8% (N=436). Patients with ≥moderate TR at baseline showed significantly higher rates of all-cause mortality (p<0.001) and of the combined endpoint after 3 years (p<0.001), compared to patients with none or mild TR. This finding was consistent for the M-TEER and TAVI subgroups. Among patients with ≥moderate TR at baseline (N=1,300), 499 patients (38.4%) showed TR improvement by at least one grade following left-sided valvular intervention, while TR did not improve in 801 patients (61.6%). Patients with TR improvement had lower left-ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes but did not differ from patients without TR improvement regarding age, sex, left ventricular ejection fraction, and right ventricular function. In the overall study population, patients with TR improvement showed lower rates of all-cause mortality (p<0.001) and the combined endpoint after 3 years (p=0.006) (Figure 1A, 1B). This finding was consistent only in the subgroup of patients undergoing M-TEER (p=0.013 and p=0.003), but not for patients undergoing TAVI (p=0.12 and 0.62) (Figure 2A, 2B). Following stepwise Cox regression (incl. adjustment for treatment), TR improvement was independently associated with survival (HR 0.76, 95%-CI 0.62-0.93, p=0.006) and combined survival or absent HF rehospitalization (HR 0.83, 95%-CI 0.70-0.98, p=0.030) 3 years following left-sided valvular intervention.
Conclusions: TR improvement was observed in more than one third of patients after left sided valvular interventions. These patients showed significantly better clinical outcomes compared to those without TR improvement. These results reinforce the need for assessment for TR assessment before and after left-sided valvular interventions and may identify patients that qualify for subsequent TR intervention.