Survival and Cardiovascular Outcomes of Patients With Secondary Mitral Regurgitation

The authors have concluded from a meta-analysis of over 45,000 patients, mitral regurgitation in the presence of LV dysfunction (either ischaemic cardiomyopathy or idiopathic causes) is, not surprisingly, associated with reduced survival. Whether this is due to the underlying myopathic process or the MR per se is not clear. Likely MR is a marker of LV dysfunction. The authors refer to the lack of proof that correction of MR improves outcomes in this subset of patients.