Valvular & structural heart diseaseCohort study

Long-Term Outcomes of Early Surgery Versus Conventional Treatment for Asymptomatic Severe Mitral Regurgitation: A Propensity Analysis

CirculationPublished

  • Prospective cohort study
  • propensity score adjustment
  • propensity-score matched

Authors' conclusion

Compared with conventional management, early surgery is associated with better long-term outcomes among asymptomatic patients with severe mitral regurgitation and preserved left ventricular function.

Study context

Population
Consecutive asymptomatic patients with severe degenerative mitral regurgitation and preserved LV function, 1996–2016
Participants
1,063 patients · 358 matched pairs
Exposure
Early surgery vs conventional treatment
  • Early surgeryn = 545
  • Conventional treatmentn = 518reference
Outcome
Overall and cardiac mortality
Follow-up
Median 12 years (IQR, 8-17 years)

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

Early surgery

8 (1.5%)

CV death · All-cause death 74 (13.6%)

Conventional treatment

54 (10.4%)

CV death · All-cause death 116 (22.4%)

Early surgery vs Conventional treatmentHazard ratio (95% CI)P value
CV death
0.17(0.07–0.40)
P < 0.001
all-cause death
0.72(0.52–0.99)
P = 0.046

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Further findings

OutcomeEarly surgeryConventional treatmentHR (95% CI)P value
Cardiac mortality, propensity score matched pairs · 20 years · rates at 20 years P=0.0025.6%17.4%0.18 (0.08–0.43)P < 0.001
Overall mortality, propensity score matched pairs · 20 years · rates at 20 years P=0.01528.2%33.9%0.66 (0.47–0.93)P = 0.018
Mitral valve repair success (early surgery)
97%
Operative deaths (early surgery)
0 · events
  • Cardiac mortality, propensity score matched pairs: matched cohort (358 pairs)
  • Overall mortality, propensity score matched pairs: matched cohort (358 pairs)

Original publication

Long-Term Outcomes of Early Surgery Versus Conventional Treatment for Asymptomatic Severe Mitral Regurgitation: A Propensity Analysis. Circulation. Published 13 August 2025. doi:10.1161/circulationaha.125.074560

Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it