Racial and ethnic disparities in patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation: The Bronx-Valve registry

Severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is an adverse prognostic factor. The presence of potential racial/ethnic disparities in patient characteristics and outcomes remain unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the impact of race/ethnicity on the clinical course of severe TR.

We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of all adults diagnosed with severe TR between January 2017 and December 2019 at a quaternary-care health system. Clinical and echocardiographic features were evaluated according to race/ethnicity. TR was categorized into four etiologies: primary, cardiac implantable electronic device-induced, ventricular secondary (V-STR), and atrial secondary TR. V-STR subgroups included left-sided cardiac disease and pulmonary hypertension. The primary endpoint was 5-year all-cause mortality, with secondary endpoints being heart failure hospitalization (HFH) and cardiovascular (CV) mortality.

A total of 989 patients were analyzed: 47.8 %, 35.1 %, and 17.1 % were non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White, respectively, over a median follow-up of 14.8 (3-42.4) months. The mean age was 71.4 ± 15.6 years (60.9 % women) with non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients younger yet displaying higher comorbidity burden, worse functional class, and more pronounced right ventricular remodeling. Left-sided cardiac disease was the predominant etiology (65.9 %), with a higher prevalence among non-White individuals. All-cause mortality and CV mortality occurred in 575 (58.1 %) and 196 (19.8 %) of patients with no significant differences among groups. HFH presented in 334 (33.1 %) of patients with Black patients having an increased risk compared to White individuals (HR, 1.45; 95 %CI, 1.04-2.02).

At the time of severe TR detection, Black and Hispanic patients, despite being younger, had higher comorbidities and more advanced disease than White patients. While 5-year mortality rates showed no significant racial/ethnic differences, Black patients had a higher risk of HFH.