Taramasso, Maurizio

Abstract Background The impact of treatment for tricuspid regurgitation (TR) across different levels of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) remains uncertain. Purpose This study aimed to compare the outcomes of surgical and transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions (TTVI) to conservative (medical) management across all LVEF categories. Methods Patients with severe isolated TR from the TRIGISTRY, a multicenter international registry, were categorized based on LVEF (preserved EF-pEF:≥50%, mildly reduced EF-mrEF:41–49%, and reduced EF-rEF:≤40%). We assessed the impact of treatment modality and procedural success, defined as residual TR ≤mild-to-moderate, on two-year survival within each LVEF category. Results Among 2,384 patients, 1,383 had pEF, 400 had mrEF, and 601 had rEF. Compared to conservative management, surgery (P<0.0005) and TTVI (P<0.0001) were associated with a survival benefit in patients with pEF. No significant survival advantage was observed in patients with mrEF (P=0.28 for both), nor in those with rEF (P=0.76 and P=0.22 respectively). Similar results were obtained when surgical and transcatheter interventions were grouped together (P<0.0001, P=0.17 and P=0.29 in patients with pEF, mrEF and rEF respectively). Patients with significant residual TR after TTVI exhibited a trend toward worse survival compared to those managed conservatively across all LVEF categories (P=0.47, P=0.33, and P=0.008 respectively)(Figure 1). Conclusion Tricuspid valve intervention, whether surgical or transcatheter-based, was associated with improved survival in patients with preserved LVEF but not in those with mildly reduced or reduced LVEF. Residual TR remained a significant prognostic factor across the entire LVEF spectrum. These findings highlight the need for careful patient selection when considering tricuspid interventions in individuals with reduced LVEF.Figure 1

Abstract Background While tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is predominantly functional, it can arise from various cardiac conditions. This study aimed to evaluate whether the benefits of tricuspid valve intervention, compared to conservative management, differ based on the underlying etiology. Methods In the TRIGISTRY international cohort, which includes consecutive patients with severe isolated functional TR across 33 centers in 10 countries, we compared mortality rates at 2 years between patients who underwent a tricuspid valve intervention (surgical or transcatheter) versus conservative management according to TR etiology. Patients were classified into three groups: (1) Isolated TR (ITR), defined as left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >60%, systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) <50 mmHg, and no prior left-heart intervention (LHI); (2) LHI-TR, comprising patients with a history of LHI; and (3) Undetermined TR (UTR), which included those who did not meet the criteria for ITR or LHI, as well as those with missing sPAP data. Given previous findings indicating that intervention provided no survival benefit for patients with a high TRI-SCORE, the present analysis was restricted to individuals with low to intermediate TRI-SCORE (≤5). Survival outcomes between groups were compared using restricted mean survival time (RMST). Results A total of 1,552 patients (72±13 years; 56% female) with severe functional TR and a low (48%) or intermediate (52%) TRI-SCORE were included. Of these, 772 (50%) underwent an intervention, while 780 (50%) were conservatively managed. TR was classified as ITR in 201 patients (13%), LHI in 395 (25%), and UTR in 956 (62%). Overall, patients with ITR exhibited the lowest comorbidity burden, whereas those with UTR had the highest. After adjusting for comorbidities and TRI-SCORE, a survival benefit of a tricuspid valve intervention was observed in patients with ITR (survival estimate: 0.17, 95% CI [0.009, 0.32], P=0.039) and, to a lesser extent, in patients with UTR (survival estimate: 0.09, 95% CI [0.0, 0.184], P=0.048), but not in those with prior LHI (survival estimate: 0.06, 95% CI [-0.08, 0.2], P=0.4). Similar results were found when excluding patients with moderate or greater residual TR after intervention. Conclusion In TRIGISTRY, patients with ITR appeared to derive the greatest benefit from tricuspid valve intervention, followed to a lesser extent by those with UTR, while no benefit was observed in patients with prior LHI. However, the potential influence of unaccounted confounders cannot be excluded, and further studies are needed to better identify patients’ subsets that may derive the most benefit from a tricuspid valve intervention.

ABSTRACT Aims The impact of treatment for tricuspid regurgitation (TR) across different levels of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) remains uncertain. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of surgical and transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions (TTVI) to conservative (medical) management across LVEF categories. Methods and results Patients with severe isolated TR from the TRIGISTRY, a multicentre international registry, were categorized based on LVEF (preserved ejection fraction [pEF]: ≥50%, mildly reduced ejection fraction [mrEF]: 41–49%, and reduced ejection fraction [rEF]: ≤40%). We assessed the impact of treatment modality and procedural success (mild-to-moderate or lower residual TR) on 2-year survival within each LVEF category. Among 2384 patients, 1383 had pEF, 400 had mrEF, and 601 had rEF. Compared to conservative management, surgery (p < 0.0005) and TTVI (p < 0.0001) were associated with a survival benefit in patients with pEF. No significant survival advantage was observed in patients with mrEF (p = 0.28 for both), nor in those with rEF (p = 0.76 and p = 0.22, respectively). Similar results were obtained when surgical and transcatheter interventions were grouped (p < 0.0001, p = 0.17 and p = 0.29 in patients with pEF, mrEF and rEF, respectively). Patients with residual TR after TTVI exhibited a trend toward worse survival compared to those managed conservatively across all LVEF categories (p = 0.47, p = 0.33 and p = 0.008 in pEF, mrEF and rEF, respectively). Conclusions Transcatheter tricuspid valve intervention, whether surgical or transcatheter-based, was associated with improved survival in patients with pEF but not in those with mrEF or rEF. Residual TR remained a significant prognostic factor across the entire LVEF spectrum. These findings highlight the need for careful patient selection when considering TTVI in individuals with rEF.

AbstractWe present three cases of acute coronary obstruction postsurgical repair of type A aortic dissection, which were successfully treated with percutaneous coronary intervention. We describe a step‐by‐step approach to performing percutaneous coronary intervention in selective cases of coronary obstruction related to type A aortic dissection.

Abstract Background and aims Benefit of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) correction and timing of intervention are unclear. This study aimed to compare survival rates after surgical or transcatheter intervention to conservative management according to a TR clinical stage as assessed using the TRI-SCORE. Methods A total of 2,413 patients with severe isolated functional TR were enrolled in TRIGISTRY (1217 conservatively managed, 551 isolated tricuspid valve surgery, and 645 transcatheter valve repair). The primary endpoint was survival at 2 years. Results The TRI-SCORE was low (≤3) in 32%, intermediate (4–5) in 33%, and high (≥6) in 35%. A successful correction was achieved in 97% and 65% of patients in the surgical and transcatheter groups, respectively. Survival rates decreased with the TRI-SCORE in the three treatment groups (all P < .0001). In the low TRI-SCORE category, survival rates were higher in the surgical and transcatheter groups than in the conservative management group (93%, 87%, and 79%, respectively, P = .0002). In the intermediate category, no significant difference between groups was observed overall (80%, 71%, and 71%, respectively, P = .13) but benefit of the intervention became significant when the analysis was restricted to patients with successful correction (80%, 81%, and 71%, respectively, P = .009). In the high TRI-SCORE category, survival was not different to conservative management in the surgical and successful repair group (61% and 68% vs 58%, P = .26 and P = .18 respectively). Conclusions Survival progressively decreased with the TRI-SCORE irrespective of treatment modality. Compared to conservative management, an early and successful surgical or transcatheter intervention improved 2-year survival in patients at low and, to a lower extent, intermediate TRI-SCORE, while no benefit was observed in the high TRI-SCORE category.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement is now indicated across all risk categories of patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis and has been proposed as first line option for the majority of patients >74 years old. However, median age of patients enrolled in the transcatheter aortic valve replacement low-risk trials is 74 years and transcatheter aortic valve replacement has never been systematically investigated in young low risk patients. Although the long-term data in surgical aortic valve replacement in young patients (age <75) are well known, such data remain lacking in transcatheter aortic valve replacement. In the absence of clear guideline recommendations in patients with challenging anatomies (eg, hostile calcium, bicuspid), it is important to know the potential advantages and disadvantages of each treatment and to consider how they might integrate with each other in the lifetime management of such patients. In this review, we discuss current outstanding issues on the management of severe aortic stenosis from a lifetime management perspective, particularly in terms of initial intervention and future reinterventions.

Abstract Background Randomized clinical trials demonstrated transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) efficacy in improving outcome vs. medical management for functional mitral regurgitation, but limited randomized data are available for the treatment of degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR). We aimed to compare the outcome of older patients treated with TEER vs. unoperated DMR. Methods and results Registries including consecutive patients ≥65 years with symptomatic severe DMR treated with TEER (MitraSwiss and Minneapolis Heart Institute registries) or unoperated (MIDA registry) were analysed. Survival was compared overall and after matching for age, sex, EuroSCORE II, and ejection fraction. The study included 1187 patients (872 treated with TEER and 315 unoperated). During 24 ± 17 months of follow-up, 430 patients died, 18 ± 1% at 1 year and 50 ± 2% at 4 years. Patients undergoing TEER had similar age (82 ± 6 vs. 82 ± 7 years) and sex to unoperated patients, but higher surgical risk/comorbidity (EuroSCORE II 3.98 ± 4.28% vs. 2.77 ± 2.46%), more symptoms, and atrial fibrillation (P &lt; 0.0001). Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair was associated with lower mortality accounting for age, sex, EuroSCORE II, New York Heart Association class, atrial fibrillation, and ejection fraction [hazard ratio (HR): 0.47, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.37–0.58; P &lt; 0.0001]. After propensity matching (247 pairs of patients), TEER consistently showed better survival compared with unoperated patients (49 ± 6% vs. 37 ± 3% at 4 years, P &lt; 0.0001) even in comprehensive multivariable analysis (HR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.40–0.91; P = 0.03). Procedural failure was infrequent but post-procedural mitral regurgitation, remaining moderate-to-severe in 66 (7.6%) patients, was associated with excess mortality vs. trivial residual regurgitation (30 ± 6% vs. 11 ± 1% at 1 year, P &lt; 0.0001). Conclusion Amongst older patients with severe symptomatic DMR at high surgical risk, mitral TEER was associated with higher survival vs. unoperated patients. Successful control of mitral regurgitation was key to survival improvement with mitral TEER, which should be actively considered in patients deemed inoperable.

Nowadays some percutaneous options for tricuspid valve (TV) repair are available: Tricinch (4Tech Cardio, Galway, Ireland) mimicking the Kay procedure, Trialign (Mitralign, Boston, MA, USA) aiming to bicuspidise TV, MitraClip (Abbott Vascular, Abbott Park, Illinois, USA) mimicking Alfieri’s stitch, direct transcatheter annuloplasty with Cardioband (Valtech Cardio, Or Yehuda, Israel) and transcatheter Forma Repair (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, California, USA) providing a surface for leaflet coaptation. A multimodality imaging approach is fundamental for defining the pathophysiology of tricuspid regurgitation (TR), preprocedural planning and intraprocedural monitoring. Both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional (3D) transthoracic echocardiography and transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) are essential for grading and anatomical characterisation of TR, and evaluation of dimensions and function of right ventricle (RV) and estimation of pulmonary pressure. In particular, 3D echocardiography provides a better anatomical definition of TV apparatus and tricuspid annulus (TA) and additional information about the anatomical relationships of TV and surrounding structures. CT offers complementary information during the preprocedural planning especially for procedures targeting TA such as annular structure and dimensions, quality and amount of annular tissue and its relationship with the right coronary artery, and the sizing of the inferior vena cava. Moreover, appropriate patient selection is crucial. The best candidate seems to be a patient with functional TR due to predominant annular dilatation with modest apical tethering, at least partial preservation of leaflets coaptation, not severe pulmonary hypertension and not advanced RV dilation and dysfunction. An example of intraprocedural multimodality imaging approach with TOE, fluoroscopy, angiography and intracardiac echocardiography is also reported.