Tricuspid regurgitation in elderly patients with acute heart failure: insights from the KCHF registry

Abstract

Aims Several studies demonstrated that tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with poor clinical outcomes. However, data on patients with TR who experienced acute heart failure (AHF) remains scarce. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between TR and clinical outcomes in patients admitted with AHF, using a large‐scale Japanese AHF registry. Methods and results The current study population consisted of 3735 hospitalized patients due to AHF in the Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure (KCHF) registry. TR grades were assessed according to the routine clinical practice at each participating centre. We compared the baseline characteristics and outcomes according to the severity of TR. The primary outcome was all‐cause death. The secondary outcome was hospitalization for heart failure (HF). The median age of the entire study population was 80 (interquartile range: 72–86) years. One thousand two hundred five patients (32.3%) had no TR, while mild, moderate, and severe TR was found in 1537 patients (41.2%), 776 patients (20.8%), and 217 patients (5.8%), respectively. Pulmonary hypertension, significant mitral regurgitation, and atrial fibrillation/flutter were strongly associated with the development of moderate/severe of TR, while left ventricular ejection fraction <50% was inversely associated with it. Among 993 patients with moderate/severe TR, the number of patients who underwent surgical intervention for TR within 1 year was only 13 (1.3%). The median follow‐up duration was 475 (interquartile range: 365–653) days with 94.0% follow‐up at 1 year. As the TR severity increased, the cumulative 1 year incidence of all‐cause death and HF admission proportionally increased ([14.8%, 20.3%, 23.4%, 27.0%] and [18.9%, 23.0%, 28.5%, 28.4%] in no, mild, moderate, and severe TR, respectively). Compared with no TR, the adjusted risks of patients with mild, moderate, and severe TR were significant for all‐cause death (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.20 [1.00–1.43], P = 0.0498, 1.32 [1.07–1.62], P = 0.009, and 1.35 [1.00–1.83], P = 0.049, respectively), while those were not significant for hospitalization for HF (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.16 [0.97–1.38], P = 0.10, 1.19 [0.96–1.46], P = 0.11, and 1.20 [0.87–1.65], P = 0.27, respectively). The higher adjusted HRs of all the TR grades relative to no TR were significant for all‐cause death in patients aged <80 years, but not in patients aged ≥80 years with significant interaction. Conclusions In a large Japanese AHF population, the grades of TR could successfully stratify the risk of all‐cause death. However, the association of TR with mortality was only modest and attenuated in patients aged 80 or more. Further research is warranted to evaluate how to follow up and manage TR in this elderly population.

Editors' highlight picks from 2023 in ESC heart failure

“…Patients with acute decompensated HFpEF patients have a poor 5‐year prognosis with CV causes of half of the mortality cases observed in two thirds after 5 years, for which CAD and tricuspid regurgitation (TR) were predictive factors 27 . In the Japanese Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure (KCHF) registry, increased TR severity was associated with a proportional increase in all‐cause mortality and HF hospitalization 28 . Remarkedly, among 993 patients with moderate/severe TR, the number of patients who underwent surgical intervention for TR within 1 year was only 13 (1.3%) 28 .…”

“…In the Japanese Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure (KCHF) registry, increased TR severity was associated with a proportional increase in all‐cause mortality and HF hospitalization 28 . Remarkedly, among 993 patients with moderate/severe TR, the number of patients who underwent surgical intervention for TR within 1 year was only 13 (1.3%) 28 . To address the optimal timing for tricuspid valve repair, L'Official et al reported a prognostic model for predicting clinical events in patients with isolated functional TR, including right atrial volume index (RAVI) and the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion to systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (TAPSE/sPAP) ratio for predicting the risk for event at 2 year follow‐up in patients with an isolated functional TR 29 .…”