EFFECT OF MITRAL REGURGITATION AND VOLUME LOADING ON PRESSURE HALF-TIME BEFORE AND AFTER BALLOON VALVOTOMY IN MITRAL-STENOSIS

Abstract

Doppler pressure half-time (PHT) is frequently used to assess mitral valve area (MVA), but the reliability of PHT has recently been challenged, specifically in the setting of balloon mitral valvotomy when hemodynamics have been abruptly altered. The effect of volume loading both before and after balloon mitral valvotomy on computation of MVA by Gorlin and by PHT in 18 patients with high-fidelity micromanometer measurements of left atrial and left ventricular pressure was therefore examined. Echocardiographic MVA increased from 0.91 +/- 0.15 to 1.97 +/- 0.42 cm2 after valvotomy. Volume loading produced significant increases in left atrial pressure (16 to 23 before and 12 to 20 mm Hg after val..