Geometric determinants of ischemic mitral regurgitation

Abstract

Background: The precise geometric determinants of ischemic mitral regurgitation (MR) are incompletely understood, although such knowledge is important to improve mitral valve reparative techniques. Methods and Results: The three-dimensional geometry of the mitral apparatus was studied using radiopaque markers in eight closed-chest dogs with acute posterior left ventricular wall ischemia either with (MR) or without (no-MR) MR as assessed by using color Doppler. Using a cylindrical coordinate system (origin at the midpoint between the mitral annulus commissures [anterolateral and posteromedial] and z-axis directed toward the left ventricular apex), we measured the distance to the midpoint (z, ..