Mitral annular motion in patients after transcatheter MitraClip and mitral valve surgery

Background: Longitudinal motion of the mitral annulus is an index that reflects left ventricular (LV) function. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of transcatheter mitral valve (MV) repair and open heart surgery for mitral regurgitation (MR) on mitral annular motion (MAM). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed in total 115 patients who underwent isolated transcatheter MV repair using MitraClip (n= 50) or surgical MV interventions (n= 65, 50 repairs and 15 replacements) for MR. MAM was assessed by two-dimensional B-mode echocardiography in the four-and two-chamber views. MAM was measured before and within 1 month after the mitral procedure. Results: Compared with patients undergoing MV surgery, patients undergoing the MitraClip procedure were older and had more comorbidities. MR grade improved significantly in both groups after MV intervention. MAM decreased significantly in the surgery group (12.0 +/- 3.1 to 8.1 +/- 2.2 mm, P<.01), whereas MAM did not change in the MitraClip group (8.8 +/- 2.6 to 8.6 +/- 2.5 mm, P=.59). In multivariate analysis, mitral surgery was associated with a decrease in MAM when compared to the MitraClip procedure. Furthermore, LV ejection fraction (EF) decreased to a greater degree in patients undergoing surgery than those undergoing MitraClip placement (MV surgery; -10.1 +/- 7.6% vs MitraClip; -3.0 +/- 10.5%, P<.01). Conclusions: MitraClip therapy does not adversely influence MAM and is associated with less postprocedural EF reduction compared to surgical intervention. Our results suggest that patients with reduced LV systolic function may benefit from the MitraClip procedure compared to mitral surgery.