Cardiology Letters 2020, 29(1):34-43

Secondary mitral regurgitation and chronic heart failure

Líška B, Pacák J, Postulka J, Fridrich V, Gonçalvesová E

Kardiologická klinika Lekárská Fakulty UK a Národný ústav srdcových a cievnych chorôb, a. s., Bratislava, Slovenská republika

Secondary mitral regurgitation is a frequent finding in chronic heart failure patients. It is an independent prognostic predictor associated with a 50% 5-year mortality. The change in left ventricular geometry caused by local or global wall motion abnormalities is currently considered to be the key mechanism of secondary mitral regurgitation. It results in tethering of mitral valve apparatus, systolic restriction and subsequent leaflet coaptation failure. The guidelines - oriented chronic heart failure drug therapy is the first line treatment in patients with secondary mitral regurgitation which can achieve a significant reduction in regurgitant volume. Due to suboptimal results of cardiac surgery, new, less invasive therapeutic techniques have been sought over the past decade. Interventional treatment of mitral regurgitation with the MitraClip system is, if taking into account specific clinical and echocardiographic criteria, an effective interventional technique with more than 80,000 patients treated worldwide.

Keywords: secondary mitral regurgitation; chronic heart failure; MitraClip; 3D-transesophageal echocardiography

Published: January 1, 2020  Show citation