Surgical versus transcatheter mitral valve replacement in functional mitral valve regurgitation

The Usefulness of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing to Detect Functional Improvement after Transcatheter Valve Procedures: What Do We Know So Far?

Transcatheter valve procedures have become a cornerstone in the management of patients with valvular heart disease and high surgical risk, especially for aortic stenosis and mitral and tricuspid regurgitation. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is generally considered the gold standard for objectively quantifying functional capacity, providing a comprehensive evaluation of the human body's performance, particularly in patients with heart failure (HF). Its accurate assessment is valuable for exploring the pathogenetic mechanisms implicated in HF-related functional impairment. It is also useful for objectively staging the clinical severity and the prognosis of the disease. The improvement in functional capacity after transcatheter valve procedures may be clinically relevant and may provide prognostic information, even in this setting. However, it remains to be fully determined as data on the topic are limited. This review aims to summarize the available evidence on the usefulness of CPET to assess functional improvement in patients undergoing transcatheter valve procedures.

Isolated annuloplasty in elderly patients with secondary mitral valve regurgitation: short- and long-term outcomes with a less invasive approach

Background

Long-term outcomes of elderly and frail patients with secondary mitral valve regurgitation (MR) are inconclusive. Especially in patients with co-morbidities such as atherosclerosis who are suffering from heart failure, optimal medical therapy (OMT) is the preferred therapy relative to surgical or percutaneous interventions. It remains challenging to identify the most successful therapy to improve symptoms and increase life expectancy. To reduce surgical trauma for these patients, minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MIMVS) was developed; this has shown promising medium-term results, but there is still a lack of evidence regarding long-term results. The aim of this investigation was to describe the long-term outcomes of less invasive mitral valve surgery (MVS) in elderly patients.

Methods

In this longitudinal retrospective analysis, 67 patients (aged ≥70 years) with secondary MR who underwent MV repair ± tricuspid valve repair (TVR) were identified. MVS was performed via minithoracotomy (MT) in most cases (n = 54); in patients with contraindications for MIMVS, partial upper sternotomy (PS) was the preferred route for surgical access (n = 13). The appropriate access route was chosen according to the patient's clinical condition and comorbidities. We analyzed reoperation-free long-term survival, combined operative success (lack of residual MR, conversion to MV replacement, or larger thoracic incisions), and perioperative safety (at 30 days: mortality, re-thoracotomy, ECMO, pacemaker implantation, dialysis, longer ventilation, stroke, myocardial infarction). In a subgroup analysis, we compared long-term survival in MVS patients with and without TVR.

Results

The median age of patients (62.7% female) was 74 years (interquartile range: 72-76 years), with a median EuroSCORE2 of 2.8% (1.5%-4.6%) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide plasma levels of 1,434 ng/L (1035-2149 ng/L). The median follow-up period was 5.6 years (2.7-8.5 years). The reoperation-free long-term survival rate up to 10 years was 66.2%. Combined operative success and perioperative safety were achieved in 94% and 76% of patients, respectively. Additional TVR was performed in 56.7% of patients, without any significant difference in survival rates compared to the group without TVR (p = 0.417; HR 1.473, 95% CI 0.578-3.757).

Conclusion

Less invasive MV repair for secondary MR shows excellent operative success and safety in selected patients. Freedom from significant MR and from the need for reoperation indicates long-lasting efficacy. These results should be considered in heart team discussions regarding allocation of patients to surgical mitral procedures.

Mitral valve repair in papillary muscle rupture

Papillary muscle rupture (PMR) is a significant mechanical complication following myocardial infarction (MI), a condition associated with a high mortality. It results in severe mitral valve regurgitation (MR), often accompanied by cardiogenic shock and pulmonary edema, requiring both emergent medical treatment and surgical intervention. Surgical treatment includes either chordal sparing mitral valve replacement or mitral valve repair, which is associated with a high mortality. Mitral valve repair is believed to be superior to mitral valve replacement with respect to improving left ventricular function, albeit with risk of repair failure and resulting in increased cross clamp times. Concomitant coronary revascularization may improve both short- and long-term outcomes after surgery. With advances in medical innovations in the field of transcatheter devices, these devices may serve as a bridge to recovery or treatment in the setting of acute MR due to PMR. However, long-term data will be required to establish the non-inferiority of one treatment modality over the other. Management of these patients should be guided by a dedicated mitral heart team.

Percutaneous Edge-to-Edge Mitral Valve Repair for Functional Mitral Regurgitation

The presence and severity of functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is associated with worse outcomes in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. Prior to the availability of percutaneous mitral valve repair, management for FMR has been limited to medical therapy, cardiac resynchronization therapy for a specific subset of patients and surgery which has yet to demonstrate mortality benefits. Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) of the mitral valve has emerged in the past decade as an invaluable member of the armamentarium against FMR with the 2 landmark randomized controlled trials providing deep insights on patient selection. In addition, TEER has spurred the rapid advancement in our understanding of FMR. This article seeks to provide an overview as well as our current understanding on the role of TEER in FMR.