Echocardiographic evaluation of patients with mitral stenosis.

Since the introduction of ultrasound technics to study the heart, echocardiographic evaluation of the mitral valve has become the most sensitive and specific noninvasive method for diagnosing mitral stenosis. Identification of the anterior mitral leaflet and the reduction of its velocity of motion was the first clinical application of M-mode echocardiography. Although simultaneous visualization of both mitral leaflets aids in the diagnosis of mitral stenosis, quantitation was not achieved until real-time imaging systems were developed to produce cross-sectional images of the mitral orifice. Currently, M-mode echocardiography remains the technic of choice for routinely diagnosing mitral stenosis. It is also useful in confirming mitral stenosis when associated abnormalities, such as aortic regurgitation, are present. Mitral orifice area is best determined with cross-sectional (two-dimensional) imaging systems. This method correlates well with hemodynamic parameters. Both methods offer the clinician serial evaluation before and after operative intervention.