Severe tricuspid regurgitation: prognostic role of right heart remodelling and pulmonary hypertension

Aims: Left heart diseases (LHDs) are the main driving forces for the development of functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR). Therefore, in most cases, the true prognostic value of TR remains concealed by concomitant LHD. This study aimed to analyse right heart remodelling in patients with TR without other valve disease and with normal systolic left ventricular function (sysLVF), and to stratify its prognostic value in the presence (dPH, maximal TR velocity signal (TRVmax) ≥ 3.5 m/s in echocardiography) or absence (nsPH, TRVmax < 3.5m/s) of concomitant pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Methods and results: We performed an observational analysis of all patients diagnosed with TR in the absence of other valve disease and reduced sysLVF at our institution between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2013. Five-year mortality was chosen as endpoint. The final cohort entailed 29 979 consecutive patients (median age 60 years, interquartile range 46-70), 49.9% were male, mean follow-up was 95±49 months. Severe TR was present in 790 patients (2.6%). In dPH and in nsPH, severe TR was associated with an excess 5-year mortality that was even more pronounced in the dPH group (58.2% vs. 43.6%, P = 0.001). In nsPH, right ventricular dysfunction predicted mortality. In dPH, mortality was independent of presence or absence of right heart dilatation or dysfunction.

Conclusion: Severe TR without concomitant left heart valve disease or LV systolic dysfunction was a rare disease in this large-scale all-comer population and is associated with an unfavourable prognosis. The differentiation of patients with nsPH and dPH is essential as they present with different patterns of right heart remodelling and with different long-time outcomes.