Impact of mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair in patients with advanced heart failure evaluated for heart transplantation

Heart transplantation is sometimes the only therapeutic option in patients with advanced heart failure (HF), impaired ventricular function and significant functional or secondary mitral regurgitation (MR). The shortage of organs and the limitations of the recipient make it necessary to consider other therapeutic alternatives in these patients, such as mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (M-TEER). The MitraBridge registry has recently been published in which they analyze the potential effect of M-TEER in patients with advanced HF and moderate-severe MI who are candidates for heart transplantation (mean age 59 years, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 27%); after a mean follow-up of 24 months, complete in 82.4%, they report an overall survival of 78.5%, a combined event-free survival of 47%, with a 6.5 % need for urgent transplantation and an HF hospitalization rate after M-TEER of 44/100 patient-years. The aim of our study is to assess the impact of M-TEER on mortality and the combined events of death, HF rehospitalization and the need for urgent transplantation or a ventricular assistance device in patients with moderate-severe functional MI and advanced HF who have also been evaluated for cardiac transplantation in our hospital.

This is a retrospective analysis of a prospective registry. Of the patients treated by M-TEER for severe MI, we selected those with advanced HF (defined as LVEF≤35%, and/or advanced functional class (NYHA III-IV)) who had also been evaluated as possible candidates for inclusion in the heart transplant list.

From November 2011 to December 2023, 191 patients were treated by M-TEER, of whom 38 patients met the established criteria (median age 59 years [48-65], 31 (81%) males, mean LVEF was 26 ± 6%). All patients had at least one previous hospitalization for HF and optimal medical treatment according to guidelines; the rest of the baseline clinical characteristics are listed in Table 1. During the follow-up after M-TEER, with a median of 34 months [7-70], the probability of overall survival at 2 years was 75.6%. The combined endpoint of death, need for urgent transplantation or a ventricular assist device, and rehospitalization for heart failure occurred in 26 patients with a 2-year event-free survival probability of 48% (Figure 1). Five patients (13%) were transplanted, one (2.6%) urgently. Prior to M-TEER therapy, the rate of HF hospitalization was 108 hospitalizations/100 patient-years, which was significantly reduced after the procedure to 33 hospitalizations/100 patient-years (rate ratio 0.31 [95% CI 0.21-0.45, p<0.0005]).