Percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty has been proposed as a nonsurgical technique for treating high-risk patients with mitral stenosis who are deferred from mitral valve replacement. The effect of this technique on patients with pulmonary hypertension, however, has not been fully evaluated. Accordingly, serial assessment of pulmonary vascular resistance was made in 14 patients with critical mitral...

Balloon valvuloplasty techniques and equipment have continued to evolve over the last two decades. With this expanded experience, there has been refinement in patient selection and a clearer understanding of the benefits, limitations, and long-term results of balloon valvuloplasty. In this chapter the mechanisms, indications, techniques and clinical results of balloon valvuloplasty of the mitra...

Several diseases have been acknowledged as pathological causes for mitral valve stenosis (MS), of which rheumatic heart disease is the most prevalent. Rheumatic heart disease is a chronic manifestation of rheumatic carditis, which occurs in 60% to 90% of cases of rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever is a late sequela to Group A -hemolytic streptococcal infection of the throat. The initial rheumatic...

BACKGROUND Percutaneous retrograde nontransseptal balloon mitral valvuloplasty is a new technique developed in our institution for opening a stenotic mitral valve. This technique is based on a new, externally steerable cardiac catheter that enters the left atrium retrogradely via the left ventricle. METHODS AND RESULTS The technique was used in 86 consecutive patients (18 men and 68 women; me...

Besides the standart echcardiografic parameters for mitral stenosis assessment it is necessary to inquire hemodynamic characteristics as well. The following article describes and illustrates step-by-step invasive their significance in of patients who underwent percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty.

Tsung O. Cheng, MD, Professor of Medicine, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. (USA) I read with interest the article on the use of transesophageal echo-cardiography (TEE) in monitoring emergency percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) in a patient with massive left atrial thrombosis by Chirillo et al. [1]. Although I agree that TEE was of great value in monitoring each step...

Mitral stenosis (MS) is the most important long-term sequel of rheumatic fever (RF). MS is associated with deterioration of the functional status of the patients and worsens their long-term prognosis. Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (BMV) is an effective and safe method in treating rheumatic MS when performed by an experienced operator in a carefully selected patient. A successful BMV...

Percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty is now a widely accepted alternative to surgical valvotomy for patients with congenital aortic valve stenosis. Mitral valve anomalies are well known to coexist and influence the prognosis from all palliative procedures. Two cases of mitral valve injury occurring during balloon aortic valvuloplasty are reported, one an 11 month old boy, the other a 2 day old ba...

BaIlon mitral valvuloplasty and closed mitral valve conunissurotomy were performed in 450 and 127 patients, respectively. Also, 254 patients with severe mitral stenosis were enrolled in a prospective randomized trial comparing the two procedures. Immediately after balloon mitral valvuloplasty, mean left atrial pressure was 11.38±3.54 mmHg, transmitral valve gradient was 1.8±2 mmHg, and mit...