Prognostic relevance of right heart reverse remodeling in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension

Roberto Badagliacca; Roberto Poscia; Beatrice Pezzuto; Silvia Papa; Manuela Reali; Francesca Pesce; Giovanna Manzi; Daniele Gianfrilli; Francesco Ciciarello; Susanna Sciomer; Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai; Roberto Torre; Francesco Fedele; Carmine Dario Vizza

doi:10.1016/j.healun.2017.09.026

Prognostic relevance of right heart reverse remodeling in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension

J Heart Lung Transplant. 2017 Oct 2:S1053-2498(17)32041-7. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2017.09.026. Online ahead of print.

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: roberto.badagliacca@uniroma1.it.
² Departments of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
³ Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
⁴ Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

PMID: 29107544
DOI: 10.1016/j.healun.2017.09.026

Abstract

Background: Right ventricular (RV) failure is a major determinant of symptoms and shortened survival in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This study assessed the prognostic relevance of increased right heart (RH) dimensions determined by echocardiography and RH reverse remodeling (RHRR) with targeted therapies in idiopathic PAH (IPAH).

Methods: The study prospectively monitored 102 therapy-naïve IPAH patients for the presence of clinical worsening. Baseline evaluation included RH catheterization and echocardiography. RHRR at the 1-year follow-up was defined by a decrease in RV end-diastolic area, right atrial area, and the left ventricular systolic eccentricity index.

Results: At the 1-year follow-up, 18 of 102 patients (17.6%) presented with RHRR. A decrease in pulmonary vascular resistance was the only independent determinant of RHRR. The 94 surviving patients were monitored for 995 ± 529 days. RHRR was an independent prognostic factor and significantly improved the power of the prognostic model based on traditional clinical and hemodynamic parameters. The respective event-free survival rates at 1, 3, and 5 years were 94%, 94%, and 94% in patients with RHRR and 75%, 55%, and 24% in those without RHRR (p = 0.0001). Interestingly, RHRR was able to further stratify patients' risk assessment through the Registry to Evaluate Early And Long-term PAH Disease Management risk score.

Conclusions: RHRR after 1 year of treatment is an independent predictor of prognosis in IPAH. The likelihood of RHRR is proportional to decreased pulmonary vascular resistance.

Keywords: clinical worsening; echocardiography; idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension; morbidity-mortality; right heart remodeling.