Heart failure patients with mitral regurgitation experience better outcomes and improved quality of life with a minimally invasive valve clip procedure compared to standard medication alone.
Summary: A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress reveals that heart failure patients with mitral regurgitation benefit more from mitral valve repair via catheter than from traditional medication. The study demonstrates that the valve repair reduces hospitalizations and improves the quality of life, even for patients with moderate cases of mitral valve insufficiency.
Key Takeaways:
- Improved Outcomes with Valve Clip: Patients receiving the valve clip procedure experienced fewer hospitalizations for heart failure and cardiovascular death compared to those who only received medication.
- Minimally Invasive Procedure: The valve clip procedure is minimally invasive, requires only a short hospital stay, and allows patients to return to their normal activities quickly.
- Significant Quality of Life Improvements: Patients who underwent valve repair reported a significant improvement in their quality of life after 12 months, emphasizing the procedure’s long-term benefits for those with mitral regurgitation.
One-third of patients with heart failure experience a problem with the mitral valve in the heart: It doesn’t close properly, a condition known as mitral regurgitation. As a result, people with this condition feel weak, fatigued, or have difficulty breathing and performing daily activities such as walking, climbing stairs, or carrying groceries.
A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress has demonstrated the benefits of placing a clip on the valve instead of the usual medical treatment, a procedure known as transcatheter mitral valve repair.
This study, in which professor Antoni Bayés-Genís, MD, PhD, from Germans Trias Hospital was part of the management team, shows that this significant benefit also applies to patients with moderate mitral regurgitation. This finding allows for faster treatment and improves the patient’s clinical condition before it becomes too late.
The catheter-based treatment involves placing a clip on the mitral valve without the need for surgery, through a minimally invasive procedure that only requires a two- to three-day hospital stay, enabling patients to quickly return to their normal lives.
Study Design and Outcomes
The study involved 505 patients from 30 centers in nine countries, divided into two groups: One group received mitral valve repair along with the recommended medical treatment, while the other group received only the usual medical treatment. After 24 months, the group that received the valve repair showed a significant reduction in the rate of recurrent hospitalizations for heart failure or cardiovascular death, compared to the group that only received medical treatment.
Additionally, patients who underwent valve repair experienced a notable improvement in their quality of life after 12 months, as measured by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire.
Bayés-Genís, principal investigator of the ICREC (Heart Failure and Cardiac Regeneration) research group at the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute, explains that this could represent a turning point in the treatment of many patients with mitral valve insufficiency.
“We now have new evidence showing that a minimally invasive procedure is beneficial even in less severe patients, and this should revolutionise clinical guidelines,” says Bayés in a release, adding that the goal “should always be to improve these patients’ quality of life and prevent them from needing hospitalization, and this study proves that.”
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