Abstract
Abstract Background Global longitudinal left atrial strain (GLS) has been used as a new assessment tool for left atrial function. Aim To investigate the effect of balloon mitral valvuloplasty (BMV) in patients with severe rheumatic mitral stenosis on GLS and its relation to the mitral valve area achieved after the procedure. Methods The study included 95 patients with severe mitral stenosis who fulfilled the criteria for BMV (case group) and 80 normal healthy subjects (control group). All included participants underwent complete echocardiographic examinations. For the case group, GLS was assessed by 2D speckle-tracking Echocardiography before valvuloplasty, immediately after, within 24 h, at 6 months, and at 12 months, and the results were compared. Results The impaired left-atrium strain in patients with severe mitral stenosis was improved immediately after BMV, and the improvement continued at 6 and 12 months post-BMV (23.1% ± 4.2 vs. 36.0 % ± 4.9, 36.2% ± 4.5, and 40.1% ± 9.5, respectively P < 0.01). After BMV, there was a significant decrease in left atrial volume (76.3 ± 12.4 mL/m2 vs. 68.6 ± 10.4 mL/m2, P < 0.01) and a significant increase in the area occupied by the mitral valve (1.02 ± 0.18 cm2 vs. 1.60 ± 0.31 cm, P < 0.01).The immediate GLS and the mitral valve area were positively correlated (r = 0.64, P < 0.01). Furthermore, the immediate GLS was associated with significantly improved function class (P < 0.01). Conclusion GLS can indicate left atrial function (mainly reservoir function). The improvement observed in patients after BMV may indicate that GLS can be used to evaluate the progress after BMV. Additional Content An author video to accompany this abstract is available on https://academic.oup.com/eurheartjsupp. Please click on the arrow next to ‘More Content’ and then click on ‘Author videos’.
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