Comparison of late results of balloon valvotomy in mitral stenosis with versus without mitral regurgitation

Rheumatic Mitral Valve Stenosis: Diagnosis and Treatment Options

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review provides an update on rheumatic mitral stenosis. Acute rheumatic fever (RF), the sequela of group A β-hemolytic streptococcal infection, is the major etiology for mitral stenosis (MS).

RECENT FINDINGS

While the incidence of acute RF in the Western world had substantially declined over the past five decades, this trend is reversing due to immigration from non-industrialized countries where rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is higher. Pre-procedural evaluation for treatment of MS using a multimodality approach with 2D and 3D transthoracic and transesophageal echo, stress echo, cardiac CT scanning, and cardiac MRI as well as hemodynamic assessment by cardiac catheterization is discussed. The current methods of percutaneous mitral balloon commissurotomy (PMBC) and surgery are also discussed. New data on long-term follow-up after PMBC is also presented. For severe rheumatic MS, medical therapy is ineffective and definitive therapy entails PMBC in patients with suitable morphological mitral valve (MV) characteristics, or surgery. As procedural outcomes depend heavily on appropriate case selection, definitive imaging and interpretation are crucial. It is also important to understand the indications as well as morphological MV characteristics to identify the appropriate treatment with PMBC or surgery.

The role of echocardiography during mitral valve percutaneous interventions

Transesophageal echocardiography is routinely used to guide percutaneous interventions involving the mitral valve. Mitral balloon valvuloplasty for rheumatic mitral valve stenosis (MS) was the first percutaneous intervention to gain wide acceptance. New techniques have been developed to treat degenerative and functional mitral regurgitation (MR) as well as paravalvular mitral leak (PVML). This review describes the use of echocardiography for transcatheter treatment of MS, MR, and PVML.

Which patients benefit from percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty? Prevalvuloplasty and postvalvuloplasty variables that predict long-term outcome

BACKGROUND

Percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty (PMV) results in good immediate results, particularly in patients with echocardiographic scores (Echo-Sc) < or =8. However, which variables relate to long-term outcome is unclear.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We report the immediate and long-term clinical follow-up (mean, 4.2+/-3.7 years; range, 0.5 to 15) of 879 patients who underwent 939 PMV procedures. Patients were divided into 2 groups, Echo-Sc < or =8 (n=601) and Echo-Sc >8 (n=278). PMV resulted in an increase in mitral valve area from 1.0+/-0.3 to 2.0+/-0.6 cm2 in patients with Echo-Sc < or =8 and from 0.8+/-0.3 to 1.6+/-0.6 cm2 in patients with Echo-Sc >8 (P<0.0001). Although adverse events (death, mitral valve surgery, and redo PMV) were low within the first 5 years of follow-up, a progressive number of events occurred beyond this period. Nevertheless, survival (82% versus 57%) and event-free survival (38% versus 22%) at 12-year follow-up was greater in patients with Echo-Sc < or =8 (P<0.0001). Cox regression analysis identified post-PMV mitral regurgitation > or =3+, Echo-Sc >8, age, prior surgical commissurotomy, NYHA functional class IV, pre-PMV mitral regurgitation > or =2+, and higher post-PMV pulmonary artery pressure as independent predictors of combined events at long-term follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

The immediate and long-term outcome of patients undergoing PMV is multifactorial. The use of the Echo-Sc in conjunction with other clinical and morphological predictors of PMV outcome allows identification of patients who will obtain the best outcome from PMV.