Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair in Patients with Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis

Severe secondary mitral regurgitation (MR) is associated with poor prognosis in heart failure patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Few observational and randomized controlled studies demonstrated the efficacy of transcatheter mitral valve repair in heart failure patients with significant MR. A meta-analysis of published studies was performed to evaluate the role of transcatheter mitral valve repair using the MitraClip device in heart failure patients with significant secondary MR.

A literature search was performed using PubMed, Cochran CENTRAL, and Embase databases using the search terms "percutaneous mitral valve repair" or "transcatheter mitral valve repair" and "heart failure." Studies that compared medical therapy plus transcatheter mitral valve repair using MitraClip to medical therapy alone in heart failure patients with significant secondary MR were included for pooled analysis. A random-effects model with the Mantel-Haenszel method was used to analyze the data.

Four studies, 2 randomized controlled and 2 nonrandomized studies met the criteria for analysis. Pooled analysis included a total of 1,421 patients, of which 746 patients underwent transcatheter mitral valve repair and 675 patients received medical therapy alone. When compared to medical therapy, transcatheter mitral valve repair significantly decreased all-cause mortality (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.37-0.91; p = 0.02). A trend toward significant reduction in rehospitalizations (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.12-1.00; p = 0.05) was also observed. Periprocedural complications ranged from 7.5 to 12.6%.

Evidence from pooled analysis suggests that transcatheter mitral valve repair using MitraClip on top of medical therapy, in appropriately selected symptomatic heart failure patients with significant secondary MR, provides survival benefit and may decrease hospitalizations when compared with guideline-directed medical therapy alone.