Functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has been regarded as a secondary phenomenon of heart failure (HF), mitral valve (MV) disease or atrial fibrillation. The prevalence of functional TR was reported to be 25-64% in patients with either ischemic or non-ischemic cardiomyopathy. Regardless of left ventricular (LV) function or pulmonary artery pressure, presence of moderate or greater functional TR is associated with poor prognosis. When a patient develops functional TR, it causes RV dilation and tricuspid annular enlargement, which also lead to deterioration of TR. A vicious cycle of significant TR, RV volume overload, tricuspid annular dilation and consequent aggravation of TR is accepted as a main determinant of the poor clinical outcome of patients with TR. Because the quantitative assessment of RV size and function using echocardiography is often limited due to the complex geometry of RV, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as a gold standard for evaluating RV volume and function with excellent accuracy and reproducibility. The investigators previously reported that RV end-systolic volume index (ESVI) and RV end-diastolic volume index (EDVI) measured by MRI were significantly larger in severe TR patients, and also found that preoperative RV ESVI and RV ejection fraction (EF) on MRI were independent predictors of cardiac death and postoperative adverse events in patients who underwent TV surgery for severe functional TR. Therefore, therapies that induce reverse remodeling of the RV and consequently reduce TR, may improve clinical outcomes. However, there have been no proven medical therapies for TR. The morbidity and mortality of patients with functional TR remain high and novel therapeutic agents are needed to improve the prognosis of patients with functional TR. The investigators hypothesize that carvedilol or empagliflozin is effective on improving RV remodeling in patients with functional severe TR and try to examine this hypothesis in a multicenter, 2x2 factorial, and randomized comparison study using cardiac MRI.
Functional tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has been regarded as a secondary phenomenon of heart failure (HF), mitral valve (MV) disease or atrial fibrillation. Regardless of left ventricular (LV) function or pulmonary artery pressure, presence of moderate or greater functional TR is associated with poor prognosis. When a patient develops functional TR, it causes RV dilation and tricuspid annular enlargement, which also lead to deterioration of TR. A vicious cycle of significant TR, RV volume overload, tricuspid annular dilation and consequent aggravation of TR is accepted as a main determinant of the poor clinical outcome of patients with TR. Therefore, therapies that induce reverse remodeling of the RV and consequently reduce TR, may improve clinical outcomes. However, there have been no proven medical therapies for TR. The investigators hypothesize that carvedilol or empagliflozin is effective on improving RV remodeling in patients with functional severe TR and try to examine this hypothesis in a multicenter, 2x2 factorial, and randomized comparison study using cardiac MRI.