ABSTRACT
Objectives: Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is common in patients referred for cardiac assessment. Nonetheless, current estimates of its prevalence and contributing factors are limited. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and demographics of TR in patients referred for echocardiography assessment at two University-affiliated hospitals.
Methods: A total of 6711 consecutive Chinese patients were recruited as part of the Chinese Valvular Heart Disease Study (CVATS).
Results: The most common valvular lesion was TR (54.7%), followed by mitral regurgitation (44.7%) and aortic regurgitation (26.5%). Clinically significant (moderate or severe) TR was identified in 8.4% with the proportion increased from 3.9% amongst those aged <51 to 15.9% in those aged ≥81. Multivariable adjustment demonstrated that significant TR was associated with age, congenital heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, left-sided valvular heart disease (VHD), impaired left ventricular ejection fraction <50%, atrial fibrillation and pulmonary hypertension.
Conclusions: Among all types of VHD, TR was the most common and was identified in over half of the subjects and clinically significant in 8.4%. These unique data provide contemporary clinical and epidemiological characteristics of TR in a large cohort of patients referred for cardiac assessment and confirm the increased burden of TR in the aged population.
Acknowledgments
We want to thank the medical and nursing staff for help and support during this study.
Declaration of interest
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.