Any Degree of Mitral Regurgitation Found during Invasive Ventriculography is Associated with All-Cause Mortality

Background Using a large database of patients who underwent cardiac catheterization for clinical reasons, we evaluated any association between reported degrees of mitral regurgitation (MR) found during ventriculography, and all-cause mortality. Method Using retrospective angiographic data (collected from the years 1993-1997) from 1,771 patients of the VA Long Beach Health Care System with documented ventriculography, we evaluated any association between various degrees of MR and all-cause mortality. We performed uni- and multivariant analysis, adjusting for age and ejection fraction. Results Any degree of MR was associated with all-cause mortality. Total mortality was 20.2% (296/1,465) in patients with no MR versus 32.7% in patients with mild MR (64/196), p < 0.001. Similar to mild MR, any degree of MR was independently associated with all-cause mortality (all MR, 35.1%, [108/306] vs. no MR, 20.2% [296/1,465], p < 0.001). After adjustment for age and comorbidities, any degree of MR remained independently associated with all-cause mortality (multivariate adjusted odds ratio, 1.7; confidence interval, 1.2-2.3; p < 001). Conclusion The presence of any MR documented on invasive ventriculography is associated with increased total mortality independent of age or ejection fraction. Our finding suggests that even mild MR has negative prognostic significance.