Abstract
BACKGROUND: Evaluation of the tricuspid valve (TV) is crucial for clinical decision making and post-treatment follow-up in pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients. However, little is known about 4-dimensional (4D) TV geometric remodeling in patients with PH. The aim of this study was to examine the 4D geometry of the TV in PH and its correlation with PH severity. METHODS: A total of 74 PH patients with mean pulmonary arterial pressure >25 mmHg and 15 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals were consecutively included from September 2017 to December 2018 in National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Fuwai Hospital. All participants underwent 2-dimensional (2D) and 4D transthoracic echocardiography and PH patients underwent right heart catheterization (RHC) within 48 hours of echocardiography. TV geometry was analyzed using a dedicated 4D echocardiography from the right ventricular-focused apical view. RESULTS: Compared with controls, PH patients had significantly larger 4D tricuspid annular (TA) and TV tenting sizes except in the 2-chamber diameter. In high-quality image cases, maximal tenting height (MTH), coaptation point height, tenting volume and 4-chamber diameter had good or moderate correlation with PH severity graded according to RHC mean pulmonary artery pressure (r=0.705, r=0.644, r=0.602, r=0.472, respectively; P<0.001 for all). In multivariable linear regression analysis, PH severity was independently associated with coaptation point height (F=18.070, P<0.001 with an R(2)=0.647) and MTH (F=25.576, P<0.001 with an R(2)=0.378). Among all 4D TV parameters, MTH had the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) in high-quality image cases [AUC =0.857, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.743-0.972; P<0.001], comparable to echocardiographic systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (AUC =0.847, 95% CI: 0.733-0.961; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In PH, TV geometric remodeling occurs mainly in TA septal-lateral dimension and TV tenting height. Worsening PH is an independent determinant of TV coaptation point height and MTH, not TA size. MTH shows a great diagnostic potential to detect severe PH.