Photo Credit: ttsz
The following is a summary of “Exercise testing in patients with tricuspid regurgitation undergoing transcatheter tricuspid valve intervention,” published in the October 2024 issue of Cardiology by Gerçek et al.
Individuals with tricuspid regurgitation (TR) experience reduced symptoms and improved QOL following transcatheter tricuspid valve intervention (TTVI).
Researchers conducted a prospective study to analyze the impact of TTVI on exercise capacity.
They performed CPET and CWRET testing (at 75% of the maximum work rate in the initial CPET) before and 3 months after TTVI. The group included 30 individuals, with 21 undergoing direct annuloplasty and 9 undergoing edge-to-edge repair.
The results showed that TR reduction of ≥ 2 grades was achieved in 93.3% of patients (TR grade ≤ moderate in 83.3%). Right ventricular basal diameter decreased from 47.0 mm (43.0–54.3) to 41.5 mm (36.8–48.0; P <0.001), and the constant work-rate exercise-time testing indicated significantly improved submaximal exercise capacity from 246.5 seconds (153.8–416.8) to 338.5 seconds (238.8–611.8; P =0.001). Maximum oxygen uptake showed a positive trend from 9.9 ml/min/kg (8.6–12.4) to 11.7 ml/min/kg (9.7–13.3; P =0.31). Effective regurgitation orifice area reduction correlated moderately with submaximal exercise capacity (r = 0.385; P =0.036), increased cardiac output (r = 0.378; P =0.039), and improved QoL (r = 0.387; P=0.035).
The study concluded that improvements in exercise capacity after TTVI primarily occur in submaximal exercise, correlating with hemodynamic effects and QoL.
Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00392-024-02554-8
