Abstract
Transesophageal Doppler echocardiography (TEE) is a useful tool to investigate pulmonary venous flow (PVF) velocity, which is altered in patients with mitral stenosis (MS). This study used TEE to analyze the variations in the PVF pattern after successful valvar dilatation in MS patients. A total of 15 MS patients, mean age 27.2 years, underwent effective percutaneous balloon valvotomy (PBV). All were submitted to TEE before and after PBV. TEE assessed systolic (SPFV) and diastolic (DPFV) peak flow velocities and their ratio (SPFV/DPFV), time-velocity integrals (STVI and DTVI) and their ratio, and diastolic flow deceleration (DFD). Valvotomy yielded statistically significant increases (P < or = 0.05) in the SPFV: increase on average by 67% and STVI by 120%, as well as in the diastolic component: increased on average by 35%, DTVI by 33%, and DFD by 75%. TEE demonstrated that PBV induced a global increase in velocities of PVF, probably related to improvement of left atrial emptying.
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