Association of right atrial strain and long-term outcome in severe secondary tricuspid regurgitation

Galloo, X.; Fortuni, F.; Meucci, M.C.; Butcher, S.C.; Dietz, M.F.; Prihadi, E.A.; ... ; Marsan, N.A. (2023)

Article / Letter to editor

Objective Severe secondary tricuspid regurgitation (STR) causes significant right atrial (RA) volume overload, resulting in structural and functional RA-remodelling. This study evaluated whether patients with severe STR and reduced RA function, as assessed by RA-reservoir-strain (RASr), show lower long-term prognosis. Methods Consecutive patients, from a single centre, with first diagnosis of severe STR and RASr measure available, were included. Extensive echocardiographic analysis comprised measures of cardiac chamber size and function, assessed also by two-dimensional speckletracking strain analysis. Primary outcome was all-cause mortality, analysed from inclusion until death or last follow-up. The association of RASr with the outcome was evaluated by Cox regression analysis and Akaike information criterion. Results A total of 586 patients with severe STR (age 68±13 years; 52% male) were included. Patients presented with mild right ventricular (RV) dilatation (enddiastolic area 13.8±6.5 cm2 /m2 ) and dysfunction (freewall strain 16.2±7.2%), and with moderate-to-severe RA dilatation (max area 15.0±5.3 cm2 /m2 ); the median value of RASr was 13%. In the overall population, 10-year overall survival was low (40%, 349 deaths), and was significantly lower in patients with lower RASr (defined by the median value): 36% (195 deaths) for RASr ≤13% compared with 45% (154 deaths) for RASr >13% (log-rank p=0.016). With a median follow-up of 6.6 years, RASr was independently associated with allcause mortality (HR per 5% RASr increase:0.928; 95% CI 0.864 to 0.996; p=0.038), providing additional value over relevant clinical and echocardiographic covariates (including RA size and RV function/size). Conclusions Patients with severe STR presented with significant RA remodelling, and lower RA function, as measured by RASr, was independently associated with all-cause mortality, potentially improving risk stratification in these patients

• Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency
• Heart Valve Diseases
• Echocardiography
• Outcome Assessment, Health Care

• All authors: Galloo, X.; Fortuni, F.; Meucci, M.C.; Butcher, S.C.; Dietz, M.F.; Prihadi, E.A.; Cosyns, B.; Delgado, V.; Bax, J.J.; Marsan, N.A.
• Date: 2023-10-27
• Journal: Heart
• DOI: doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2023-323084