The assessment of mitral valve disease: a guideline from the British Society of Echocardiography

Mitral valve disease is common. regurgitation the second most frequent indication for surgery in Europe and despite decline of rheumatic fever Western societies, mitral stenosis any aetiology a regular finding all echo departments. is, therefore, one common pathologies encountered by echocardiographers, as both primary echocardiography secondary when investigating other cardiovascular processes. Transthoracic, transoesophageal exercise stress play crucial role assessment are essential to identifying aetiology, mechanism severity disease, helping determine appropriate timing method intervention. This guideline from British Society Echocardiography (BSE) describes stenosis, replaces previous BSE guidelines that describe echocardiographic anatomy prior repair percutaneous valvuloplasty. It provides comprehensive description imaging techniques (and their limitations) employed disease. step-wise approach identifying: mechanism, severity, reparability effects on chamber geometry, function pressures. Advanced described transthoracic modalities, including TOE testing.