BACKGROUND Percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) is an attractive therapeutic option for mitral stenosis (MS).

OBJECTIVE To investigate the incidence and development of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) long after successful PMV. DESIGN, PATIENTS AND INTERVENTIONS: A prospective cohort of 299 patients with symptomatic MS who underwent successful PMV as first-line treatment between 1988 and 2010.

SETTING One tertiary university hospital.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Significant TR, defined as a grade ≥3 on echocardiographic analysis.

RESULTS Although most TR regressed in these patients immediately after the procedure, 56 patients developed significant TR during follow-up (median 12 years, IQR 8.0-18.0 years). The cumulative incidence of significant TR increased time-dependently (9.4%, 19.8% and 35.2% at 8, 12 and 18 years of follow-up, respectively). Atrial fibrillation (AF) and TR grade ≥2 before PMV were found to be independent predictors of significant TR (HR (95% CI) 3.049 (1.169 to 7.949) and 3.016 (1.303 to 6.982), p=0.023 and 0.010 for pre-PMV AF and pre-PMV TR grade ≥2, respectively). Even after, exclusion of patients with significant TR at baseline, pre-PMV TR grade ≥2 and AF remained important factors of de novo TR development. Mitral valve restenosis was also associated with late significant TR development.

CONCLUSIONS Significant TR after successful PMV in patients with MS is not uncommon long after PMV. TR development is closely associated with mitral valve restenosis. More attention should be paid during long-term follow-up to TR development in patients with MS who have significant pre-PMV TR and/or AF.