Effect of Age on Short-Term Readmissions Following Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair of the Mitral Valve

As transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER) is increasingly used in younger and older patients, there is a need to investigate outcomes across all age groups. We investigated age as a risk factor for short-term readmission after transcatheter mitral valve TEER.

We reviewed the National Readmission Database for 2018-2022 to identify patients undergoing TEER and stratified patients into three age groups (<65, 65-80, and >80 years [years]) to compare odds of 30-day and 90-day overall readmissions and heart failure readmissions using logistic regression.

Thirty- and 90-day cohorts included 25,648 and 20,586 persons with overall readmission rates of 14.7% and 27.8%, respectively. Compared to those <65 years, the adjusted 30-day odds ratio was 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72-1.16; p = 0.45) for ages 65-80 years and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.72-1.18; p = 0.51) for those >80 years. The adjusted 90-day odds ratio was 0.94 (95% CI, 0.76-1.16; p = 0.58) for those 65-80 years and 0.97 (95% CI, 0.78-1.21; p = 0.80) for those >80 years. There was a significant increase in readmissions at 30 and 90 days due to stroke in the older age group (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01).

With similar event rates between older and younger patients, age was not a significant predictor of readmission following TEER at 30 or 90 days. These findings suggest that TEER may offer benefit across age groups among individuals with moderate to severe mitral regurgitation. The higher proportion of stroke-related readmissions observed among older patients highlights an urgent need for improved risk stratification strategies tailored for this population.