Effect of Admission Serum Albumin Levels on Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Mitral Valve Repair Device Implantation for Severe Mitral Regurgitation

Background: Low admission serum albumin levels (<3.5 mg/dl) are known to be associated with higher risk of morbidity and mortality following cardiovascular procedures. There is limited data on the value of serum albumin levels on admission as a prognostic factor after transcatheter Mitral valve repair device implantation in patients with severe mitral regurgitation.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of admission serum albumin levels on morbidity and mortality in patients following mitral clip implantation.

Methods: We studied 148 consecutive procedures of mitral clip implantation, at the Hadassah Medical Center between October 2015 and September 2019. 25 patients lacked the information on admission serum albumin levels and were therefore excluded from this study. Patients were divided into two cohorts according to admission Albumin level: low (<3.5 mg/dl) and normal (≥3.5 mg/dl). We evaluated 30-day, 1-year and overall mortality after the procedure.

Results: Baseline characteristics were similar between the low Albumin cohort (n=36) and the normal Albumin cohort (n=87). Among patients with low Albumin or normal Albumin there no significant differences found in 30-day mortality (5.6% and 2.3% respectively, P=0.580), in 1-year mortality (11.1% and 11.5% respectively, P=1.000), or in overall mortality (mean survival time 1067±94 days and 927±60 days respectively, P=0.804). Univariate Cox regression also did not reveal a difference in effect on survival between both groups (P=0.805).

Conclusion: Despite hypoalbuminemia is known to be associated with poor outcomes of cardiovascular procedures, we did not find that effect in patients with low admission serum Albumin undergoing transcatheter Mitral valve repair device implantation.