Functional tricuspid regurgitation associated with left-side valvulopathy: clinical profile and long term evolution based on pulmonary pressure

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is an entity with multiple etiologies, with functional TR associated with left-sided valvulopathy being the most frequent group in clinical practice, accounting for approximately 50%. This group has traditionally been considered a consequence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) secondary to left-sided valvulopathy, although this dogma has hardly been evaluated despite new clinical and pathophysiological knowledge of TR. In this study we aimed to evaluate the clinical profile and evolution of a large series of patients with significant TR based on pulmonary pressure. Methods Multicenter and retrospective study that included a series of consecutive patients with significant TR (moderate to severe or greater) diagnosed between 2002 and 2017. After excluding patients with organic TR (congenital or acquired), those with TR associated with left-sided valvular disease were included, defined by the presence of mild mitral stenosis, previous left-sided surgery, left-sided valvular prosthesis or other left-sided valvular disease of at least moderate grade. Patients were classified according to the absence or presence of PH which was estimated by echocardiography, defining a systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (PASP) ≥ 50 mmHg. Subsequently, the baseline clinical characteristics of the sample were compared and a follow-up was carried out to evaluate long-term mortality and hospitalization events due to heart failure (HF). Results A total of 422 patients were were included (160 with PASP <50 and 262 with PASP ≥50). The attached table shows the baseline characteristics of both groups. Patients with PASP <50 were younger, had a higher percentage of previous valvular surgery, AF, HTN, and DM, along with a lower percentage of pulmonary disease and right HF. After follow-up (median 42.6 months), significant differences were observed between the two groups (Figures 1 and 2) with higher overall long-term survival (p<0.001) and higher freedom from HF hospitalization (p 0.013) in the group without PH. Cox regression analysis showed that female sex was a predictor of higher survival (p<0.001) while age and previous diagnosis of RHF were predictors of mortality (p<0.001). Similarly, the presence of previous RHF and previous hospitalizations for HF were predictors of the HF hospitalization event (p<0.001). Conclusions In a large series of patients with left-sided valvular heart disease and TR, cases with estimated absence of significant PH were frequent (37.9%). Furthermore, it was observed that pulmonary disease (a possible concomitant cause of PH) was more frequent in the group with significant PH. The group without PH had a different clinical profile and a better long-term prognosis. All of this suggests that there are different factors that determine the development of significant TR associated with left-sided valvular heart disease, beyond secondary PH itself. These factors could influence the patient's prognosis.Baseline clinical characteristics.Kaplan Meier survival curves.