Health Status Changes and Outcomes in Patients With Heart Failure and Mitral Regurgitation

Background In the COAPT (Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients With Functional Mitral Regurgitation) trial, transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVr) with the MitraClip rapidly improved health status and reduced the long-term risks for death and heart failure (HF) hospitalization in patients with HF and severe secondary mitral regurgitation who remained symptomatic despite maximally tolerated guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). Objectives The aim of this study was to examine if early health status changes were associated with long-term clinical outcomes in the COAPT population. Methods The association between change in health status (Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire overall summary score [KCCQ-OS]) from baseline to 1 month and the composite rate of death or HF hospitalization between 1 month and 2 years in the COAPT trial were evaluated, and whether treatment (TMVr or GDMT alone) modified this association was tested. Results Among 551 patients with HF and severe secondary mitral regurgitation who were alive at 1 month, those randomized to TMVr were more likely than those randomized to GDMT alone to achieve a ≥10-point improvement in KCCQ-OS from baseline to 1 month (TMVr, 58%; GDMT alone, 26%). Early improvement in KCCQ-OS was inversely associated with the risk for death or HF hospitalization between 1 month and 2 years (p Conclusions In patients with HF and severe secondary mitral regurgitation, a short-term change in disease-specific health status was strongly associated with the subsequent long-term risk for death or HF hospitalization. These findings reinforce the prognostic utility of serial KCCQ-OS assessments to identify patients at risk for poor long-term clinical outcomes in this population. (Cardiovascular Outcomes Assessment of the MitraClip Percutaneous Therapy for Heart Failure Patients With Functional Mitral Regurgitation [The COAPT Trial]; NCT01626079).