Impact of Pulmonary Hypertension on Outcomes after Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Edge-to-Edge Repair

Background: Data regarding the association of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter tricuspid valve edge-to-edge repair (T-TEER) are scarce. Objectives: To 1) investigate the impact of PH on outcomes after T-TEER and 2) to shed further light into the role of pre- and postcapillary PH in patients undergoing T-TEER for relevant tricuspid regurgitation (TR). Methods: The study included patients from the EuroTR registry (NCT06307262) who underwent T-TEER for relevant TR from 2016 until 2023 with available invasive evaluation of sPAP using right heart catheterization. Study endpoints were procedural TR reduction, improvement in New York Heart Association (NYHA) function class and a combined endpoint of death or heart failure hospitalization (HFH) at two-years. Results: Among a total of 1230 patients (mean age 78.6 ±7.0 years; 51.4% women) increasing systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) was independently associated with increasing rates of two-year death or HFH (hazard ratio 1.027, 95% confidence interval 1.003-1.052, p=0.030; median survival follow up 343 (114-645) days). No significant survival differences were observed for patients with pre- vs. postcapillary PH. Sensitivity analysis revealed a sPAP value of 46 mmHg as optimized threshold for prediction of death or HFH. Being observed in 526 patients (42.8%), elevated sPAP > 46 mmHg was associated with more severe heart failure symptoms at baseline and follow-up. Importantly, NYHA functional class and TR severity significantly improved irrespective of PH. Conclusion: PH is an important outcome predictor in patients undergoing T-TEER for relevant TR. In contrast to previous studies, no significant differences were observed for patients with pre- and postcapillary PH in terms of survival free from HFH.