Quantification of the relative contribution of the different right ventricular wall motion components to right ventricular ejection fraction

Abstract Three major mechanisms contribute to right ventricular (RV) pump function: (i) shortening of the longitudinal axis with traction of the tricuspid annulus towards the apex; (ii) inward movement of the RV free wall; (iii) bulging of the interventricular septum into the RV and stretching the free wall over the septum. The relative contribution of the aforementioned mechanisms to RV pump function may change in different pathological conditions. Our aim was to develop a custom method to separately assess the extent of longitudinal, radial and anteroposterior displacement of the RV walls and to quantify their relative contribution to global RV ejection fraction using 3D data sets obtained by echocardiography. Accordingly, we decomposed the movement of the exported RV beutel wall in a vertex based manner. The volumes of the beutels accounting for the RV wall motion in only one direction (either longitudinal, radial, or anteroposterior) were calculated at each time frame using the signed tetrahedron method. Then, the relative contribution of the RV wall motion along the three different directions to global RV ejection fraction was calculated either as the ratio of the given direction’s ejection fraction to global ejection fraction and as the frame-by-frame RV volume change (∆V/∆t) along the three motion directions. The ReVISION (Right VentrIcular Separate wall motIon quantificatiON) method may contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of RV mechanical adaptations to different loading conditions and diseases

Right Ventricular-Pulmonary Arterial Coupling in Patients With HF Secondary MR Analysis From the COAPT Trial

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic impact of right ventricular (RV)-pulmonary arterial (PA) coupling in patients with heart failure (HF) with severe secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR) enrolled in the COAPT (Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients With Functional Mitral Regurgitation) trial.BACKGROUND RV contractile function and PA pressures influence outcomes in patients with SMR, but the impact of RV-PA coupling in patients randomized to transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) vs guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) is unknown.METHODS RV-PA coupling was assessed by the ratio of RV free wall longitudinal strain derived from speckle-tracking echocardiography and noninvasively measured RV systolic pressure. Advanced RV-PA uncoupling was defined as RV free wall longitudinal strain/RV systolic pressure <= 0.5%/mm Hg. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause mortality or HF hospitalization at 24-month follow-up.RESULTS A total of 372 patients underwent speckle-tracking echocardiography, and 70.2% had advanced RV-PA uncoupling. By multivariable analysis, advanced RV-PA uncoupling was strongly associated with an increased risk for the primary 24-month endpoint of death or HF hospitalization (HR: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.31-2.66; P = 0.0005). A similar association was present for all-cause mortality alone (HR: 2.57; 95% CI: 1.54-4.29; P = 0.0003). The impact of RV-PA uncoupling was consistent in patients randomized to TEER and GDMT alone. Compared with GDMT alone, the addition of TEER improved 2-year outcomes in patients with (48.0% vs 74.8%; HR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.37-0.71) and those without (28.8% vs 47.8%; HR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.27-0.97) advanced RV-PA uncoupling (P-interaction = 0.98).CONCLUSIONS In the COAPT trial, advanced RV dysfunction assessed by RV-PA uncoupling was a powerful predictor of 2-year adverse outcomes in patients with HF and SMR. (Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients With Functional Mitral Regurgitation [The COAPT Trial]; NCT01626079) (C) 2021 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.Cardiolog

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation for pure severe native aortic valve regurgitation

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to collect data and evaluate the anecdotal use of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in pure native aortic valve regurgitation (NAVR) for patients who were deemed surgically inoperable BACKGROUND: Data and experience with TAVI in the treatment of patients with pure severe NAVR are limited. METHODS: Data on baseline patient characteristics, device and procedure parameters, echocardiographic parameters, and outcomes up to July 2012 were collected retrospectively from 14 centers that have performed TAVI for NAVR. RESULTS: A total of 43 patients underwent TAVI with the CoreValve prosthesis (Medtronic, Minneapolis, Minnesota) at 14 centers (mean age, 75.3 ± 8.8 years; 53% female; mean logistic EuroSCORE (European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation), 26.9 ± 17.9%; and mean Society of Thoracic Surgeons score, 10.2 ± 5.3%). All patients had severe NAVR on echocardiography without aortic stenosis and 17 patients (39.5%) had the degree of aortic valvular calcification documented on CT or echocardiography. Vascular access was transfemoral (n = 35), subclavian (n = 4), direct aortic (n = 3), and carotid (n = 1). Implantation of a TAVI was performed in 42 patients (97.7%), and 8 patients (18.6%) required a second valve during the index procedure for residual aortic regurgitation. In all patients requiring second valves, valvular calcification was absent (p = 0.014). Post-procedure aortic regurgitation grade I or lower was present in 34 patients (79.1%). At 30 days, the major stroke incidence was 4.7%, and the all-cause mortality rate was 9.3%. At 12 months, the all-cause mortality rate was 21.4% (6 of 28 patients). CONCLUSIONS: This registry analysis demonstrates the feasibility and potential procedure difficulties when using TAVI for severe NAVR. Acceptable results may be achieved in carefully selected patients who are deemed too high risk for conventional surgery, but the possibility of requiring 2 valves and leaving residual aortic regurgitation remain important considerations

Left Ventricular Global Longitudinal Strain as a Predictor of Outcomes in Patients with Heart Failure with Secondary Mitral Regurgitation: The COAPT Trial

Background: Left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) is a sensitive marker of LV function and may help identify patients with heart failure (HF) and secondary mitral regurgitation who would have a better prognosis and are more likely to benefit from edge-to-edge transcatheter mitral valve repair with the MitraClip. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic utility of baseline LV GLS during 2-year follow-up of patients with HF with secondary mitral regurgitation enrolled in the Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients with Functional Mitral Regurgitation trial. Methods: Patients with symptomatic HF with moderate to severe or severe secondary mitral regurgitation who remained symptomatic despite maximally tolerated guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) were randomized to transcatheter mitral valve repair plus GDMT or GDMT alone. Speckle-tracking-derived LV GLS from baseline echocardiograms was obtained in 565 patients and categorized in tertiles. Death and HF hospitalization at 2-year follow-up were the principal outcomes of interest. Results: Patients with better baseline LV GLS had higher blood pressure, greater LV ejection fraction and stroke volume, lower levels of B-type natriuretic peptide, and smaller LV size. No significant difference in outcomes at 2-year follow-up were noted according to LV GLS. However, the rate of death or HF hospitalization between 10 and 24 months was lower in patients with better LV GLS (P = .03), with no differences before 10 months. There was no interaction between GLS tertile and treatment group with respect to 2-year clinical outcomes. Conclusions: Baseline LV GLS did not predict death or HF hospitalization throughout 2-year follow-up, but it did predict outcomes after 10 months. The benefit of transcatheter mitral valve repair over GDMT alone was consistent in all subgroups irrespective of baseline LV GLS. (J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2021;34:955-65.)Cardiolog

Impact of Tricuspid Regurgitation on Clinical Outcomes: The COAPT Trial

Background: The presence of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) may affect prognosis in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR). Objectives: This study sought to determine the impact of TR on outcomes in patients with heart failure and severe secondary MR randomized to guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) or edge-to-edge repair with the MitraClip in the COAPT (Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients With Functional Mitral Regurgitation) trial. Methods: A total of 614 patients with symptomatic heart failure with moderate to severe (3+) or severe (4+) secondary MR were randomized to maximally tolerated GDMT plus MitraClip or GDMT alone; 599 had core laboratory evaluable echocardiograms. Patients were divided into 2 groups by baseline TR severity: none/trace/mild TR (≤Mild TR) (n = 501 [83.6%]) and moderate/severe TR (≥Mod TR) (n = 98 [16.4%]). Two-year composite endpoints of death or heart failure hospitalization (HFH) and the individual endpoints were analyzed. Results: Patients with ≥Mod TR were more likely to be New York Heart Association functional class III/IV (p < 0.0001) and have a Society of Thoracic Surgeons score of ≥8 (p < 0.0001), anemia (p = 0.02), chronic kidney disease (p = 0.003), and higher N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (p = 0.02) than those with ≤Mild TR. Patients with ≥Mod TR had more severe MR (p = 0.0005) despite smaller left ventricular volumes (p = 0.005) and higher right ventricular systolic pressure (p < 0.0001). At 2 years, the composite rate of death or HFH was higher in patients with ≥Mod TR compared with ≤Mild TR treated with GDMT alone (83.0% vs. 64.3%; hazard ratio: 1.74; 95% confidence interval: 1.24 to 2.45; p = 0.001) but not following MitraClip (48.2% vs. 44.0%; hazard ratio: 1.14; 95% confidence interval: 0.71 to 1.84; p = 0.59). Rates of death or HFH, as well as death and HFH alone, were reduced by MitraClip compared with GDMT, irrespective of baseline TR grade (pinteraction = 0.16, 0.29, and 0.21 respectively). Conclusions: Patients with severe secondary MR who also had ≥Mod TR had worse clinical and echocardiographic characteristics and worse clinical outcomes compared to those with ≤Mild TR. Within the COAPT trial, MitraClip improved outcomes in patients with and without ≥Mod TR severity compared with GDMT alone. (Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients With Functional Mitral Regurgitation [COAPT]; NCT01626079

Pulmonary Hypertension in Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair for Secondary Mitral Regurgitation: The COAPT Trial

Background: Pulmonary hypertension worsens prognosis in patients with heart failure (HF) and secondary mitral regurgitation (SMR). Objectives: This study sought to determine whether baseline pulmonary hypertension influences outcomes of transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) in patients with HF with SMR. Methods: In the COAPT (Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients with Functional Mitral Regurgitation) trial, 614 patients with HF with moderate-to-severe or severe SMR were randomized to TMVr with the MitraClip plus guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) (n = 302) versus GDMT alone (n = 312). Baseline pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) estimated from echocardiography was categorized as substantially increased (≥50 mm Hg) versus not substantially increased (<50 mm Hg). Results: Among 528 patients, 184 (82 TMVr, 102 GDMT) had PASP of ≥50 mm Hg (mean: 59.1 ± 8.8 mm Hg) and 344 (171 TMVr, 173 GDMT) had PASP of <50 mm Hg (mean: 36.3 ± 8.1 mm Hg). Patients with PASP of ≥50 mm Hg had higher 2-year rates of death or HF hospitalization (HFH) compared to those with PASP of <50 mm Hg (68.8% vs. 49.1%; adjusted hazard ratio: 1.52; 95% confidence interval: 1.17 to 1.97; p = 0.002). Rates of death or HFH were reduced by TMVr versus GDMT alone, irrespective of baseline PASP (pinteraction = 0.45). TMVr reduced PASP from baseline to 30 days to a greater than GDMT alone (adjusted least squares mean: –4.0 vs. –0.9 mm Hg; p = 0.006), a change that was associated with reduced risk of death or HFH between 30 days and 2 years (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.91 per –5 mm Hg PASP; 95% confidence interval: 0.86 to 0.96; p = 0.0009). Conclusions: Elevated PASP is associated with a worse prognosis in patients with HF with severe SMR. TMVr with the MitraClip reduced 30-day PASP and 2-year rates of death or HFH compared with GDMT alone, irrespective of PASP

Changes in Left Ventricular Global Longitudinal Strain in Patients With Heart Failure and Secondary Mitral Regurgitation: The COAPT Trial

Background Left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) provides incremental prognostic information over LV ejection fraction in patients with heart failure (HF) and secondary mitral regurgitation. We examined the prognostic impact of LV GLS improvement in this population. Methods and Results The COAPT (Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients With Functional Mitral Regurgitation) trial randomized symptomatic patients with HF with severe (3+/4+) mitral regurgitation to transcatheter edge‐to‐edge repair with the MitraClip device plus maximally tolerated guideline‐directed medical therapy (GDMT) versus GDMT alone. LV GLS was measured at baseline and 6‐month follow‐up. The relationship between the improvement in LV GLS from baseline to 6 months and the composite of all‐cause death or HF hospitalization between 6‐ and 24‐month follow‐up were assessed. Among 383 patients, 174 (45.4%) had improved LV GLS at 6‐month follow‐up (83/195 [42.6%] with transcatheter edge‐to‐edge repair+GDMT and 91/188 [48.4%] with GDMT alone; P=0.25). Improvement in LV GLS was strongly associated with reduced death or HF hospitalization between 6 and 24 months (P<0.009), with similar risk reduction in both treatment arms (Pinteraction=0.40). By multivariable analysis, LV GLS improvement at 6 months was independently associated with a lower risk of death or HF hospitalization (hazard ratio [HR], 0.55 [95% CI, 0.36–0.83]; P=0.009), death (HR, 0.48 [95% CI, 0.29–0.81]; P=0.006), and HF hospitalization (HR, 0.50 [95% CI, 0.31–0.81]; P=0.005) between 6 and 24 months. Conclusions Among patients with HF and severe mitral regurgitation in the COAPT trial, improvement in LV GLS at 6‐month follow‐up was associated with improved outcomes after both transcatheter edge‐to‐edge repair and GDMT alone between 6 and 24 months. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT01626079