Severe Rheumatic Mitral Valve Disease Research Articles

A Unique Association of Left Ventricular Noncompaction With Rheumatic Heart Disease

Left ventricular noncompaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC) is a type of primary genetic cardiomyopathy, which occurs during embryogenesis by the arrest in the ventricular myocardium compaction. LVNC is characterized by prominent wall trabeculations and intertrabecular recesses that communicate with the ventricular cavity. There are 2 types of cardiomyopathy: the first one is associated with other primary cardiac structural abnormalities like malfunctional cardiac valves as mentioned in the case report below and the second type is in which there are no other associated cardiac structural abnormalities also called isolated LV noncompaction cardiomyopathy. We report an association of severe rheumatic mitral valve disease and LV noncompaction with significantly reduced ejection fraction which is rare.

Concurrent valve replacement and caesarean section for rheumatic mitral valve disease with refractory heart failure in late pregnancy.

To assess clinical characteristics and outcomes of women who underwent concurrent valve replacement with caesarean section for severe rheumatic mitral valve disease with refractory heart failure. All women admitted to a single centre from 2011 to 2020 with severe rheumatic mitral valve disease, having recurrent episodes of pulmonary edema on optimal medical therapy and contraindication to percutaneous balloon mitral valvotomy, who underwent concurrent valve replacement (for native valve disease) along with caesarean section, were included. Among 1300 pregnancies with rheumatic heart disease, six underwent the concurrent procedure. All had replacement of mitral valve except one who had both aortic and mitral valve replacements, between 33 and 39 weeks of gestation. There were no maternal deaths, and there was one neonatal loss from late-onset sepsis. Pregnant women with severe rheumatic mitral valve disease with refractory heart failure, unsuitable for minimal access interventions, can be considered for a concurrent valve replacement with caesarean section.

Cost-utility analysis of heart surgeries for young adults with severe rheumatic mitral valve disease in India

BackgroundRheumatic mitral valve disease (RMVD) is a major cause of acquired valvular disease in India. We compared the cost-effectiveness of surgical treatment strategies for young adults with severe RMVD from an Indian public payer perspective. MethodsWe developed a Markov model to reflect the burden of RMVD among a hypothetical cohort of 20-year-olds in India and to estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and lifetime costs associated with three strategies: (1) Repair; (2) Mechanical valve replacement (MVR-M); and (3) Bioprosthetic valve replacement (MVR-B), compared to a baseline strategy involving a mix of surgeries approximating the standard of care in India (32% Repair, 33% MVR-M, 35% MVR-B). Data on disease burden, intervention effects, and direct medical costs (2018 US$) were obtained from the literature. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess model uncertainty. ResultsRepair ($2530, 9.7 QALYs) was less costly and more effective than the standard of care ($2990, 8.7 QALYs) and MVR-M ($3220, 6.2 QALYs). The incremental cost-effective ratio for MVR-B ($3190, 10.1 QALYs) compared to Repair was $1590 per QALY, which may be cost-effective at a threshold of India's per-capita gross domestic product (GDP: $2005). The optimal choice between Repair or MVR-B was sensitive to variations in surgery costs, background mortality, and risks for reoperation. ConclusionsOur model-based analysis suggests that Repair is the optimal strategy and MVR-M should not be recommended for this subpopulation. MVR-B may be cost-effective in contexts where quality of Repair is not assured, newer generation bioprostheses are used, or the costs of the bioprosthetic valve decrease.

Bileaflet pericardial patch repair for rheumatic mitral valve disease

Surgical repair in rheumatic mitral valve disease is technically challenging as the disease affects both valvular and subvalvular structures. Due to the resultant shortage of pliable valve tissue, pericardial patch techniques are progressively used to restore normal valve function. This makes mitral valve repair possible even in the most severe forms of rheumatic mitral valve disease. In this tutorial, we report a case of mitral valve repair with a bileaflet (decellularized) pericardial patch in a patient with severe rheumatic mitral valve disease.

Early Results of Mitral Valve Replacement in Severe Pulmonary Artery Hypertension—An Institutional Prospective Study

Introduction: In patients undergoing surgery for mitral valve replacement (MVR) for valvular heart disease, pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) has been considered a major risk factor. In this prospective study, we have studied the early hemodynamic changes and post-operative outcomes of MVR among patients with severe PAH. Methods: 68 consecutive patients who underwent mitral valve replacement for severe rheumatic mitral valve disease with severe PAH (pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) > 50 mmHg) were studied prospectively for immediate postoperative hemodynamics and outcomes. The mean age of the patients was 32.1 years. 32 (47.05%) patients had mitral stenosis, 13 (19.11%) had mitral regurgitation and 23 (33.82%) had mixed lesions. Patients were divided into two groups based on preoperative pulmonary artery pressures. In 56 patients (82.35%, group I) PAP was sub-systemic or systemic, with a mean of 58.4 mmHg. Twelve patients (17.65%, group II) had supra-systemic PAP with a mean of 82.4 mmHg. Results: After mitral valve replacement, the PAP and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) decreased significantly in group I to near normal levels. In group II also the PAP and PVR decreased significantly but significant residual PAH remained. Operative mortality was 3.5% in group I and 16.6% in group II. Conclusions: MVR is safe and effective at the presence of severe PAH as long as the PAP is below or equal to systemic pressures. With suprasystemic PAP, MVR carries a high risk of mortality and the patient continues to have severe PAH in the postoperative period.

Papillary muscle stump mimicking a left ventricular mass after mitral valve replacement with partial chordal preservation

Background: Maintaining continuity between the mitral valve and the subvalvular apparatus during mitral valve replacement (MVR) maximizes the left ventricular (LV) function and increases the survival rate. However, MVR potentially cause rupture of the papillary muscles, systemic embolization, or dehiscence of the mitral annulus from the transposed position. Objective: We presented a case with severe rheumatic mitral valve disease treated with MVR and partial preservation of the posterior and anterior chordae tendineae. Methods: Retrospectively review of medical records. Results: Transthoracic echocardiography performed two weeks after surgery revealed a floating mass in the posterior inferior aspect of the left atrium and a lobulated mass joining the tip of the posterior papillary muscle in the left ventricle. Perioperative examination confirmed a large thrombus in the left atrium and the stump of the preserved posterior papillary muscle of the mitral valve. Conclusion: Thus, the papillary muscle could present itself as an abnormal mass on echocardiography, resulting in misdiagnosing. Keywords: Intracardiac mass, mitral valve replacement, papillary muscle

The Spectrum of Severe Rheumatic Mitral Valve Disease in a Developing Country: Correlations among Clinical Presentation, Surgical Pathologic Findings, and Hemodynamic Sequelae

To describe the demographic, pathologic, and hemodynamic profiles of patients with severe rheumatic mitral valve disease in a developing country and to assess their relation to uncontrolled rheumatic disease activity. Retrospective, cross-sectional, cohort study. Tertiary medical center in Soweto, South Africa. 714 of 737 consecutive black patients, 4 to 73 years old, with pure mitral regurgitation, pure mitral stenosis, or mixed mitral disease who had mitral valve surgery and in whom preoperative and surgical data were concordant. Valve lesions were evaluated on the basis of clinical, echocardiographic, hemodynamic, and surgical pathologic data. Active rheumatic carditis was diagnosed according to clinical evidence for concurrent acute rheumatic fever (Jones criteria), macroscopic appearances at surgery, and histologic findings. 219 patients had pure mitral regurgitation, 275 had pure mitral stenosis, and 220 had mixed lesions. Ongoing rheumatic activity was diagnosed in 106 patients with pure regurgitation (47%) and in only 5 patients with pure stenosis (2%). Pure regurgitation was the most common lesion in the first and second decades; the relative prevalence of pure stenosis increased with age. Purely regurgitant valves had pliable, unscarred leaflets (95%), dilated mitral annuli (95%), elongated chordae tendineae (92%), and anterior leaflet prolapse (81%). In contrast, purely stenotic valves had fused leaflet commissures (100%) and rigid leaflets (38%) but no evidence of prolapse. The spectrum of rheumatic mitral valve disease that is hemodynamically severe in developing countries differs from that currently reported in the United States. Severe, pure rheumatic mitral regurgitation is as prevalent as pure stenosis but has an entirely different time course, surgical anatomy, and relation to disease activity, suggesting a separate pathophysiologic mechanism.

Surgery in severe rheumatic mitral valve disease--recognition of severity and risk factors.

The postoperative course of 294 patients with rheumatic mitral valve disease, who underwent mitral valve surgery during a period from July, 1978 to June, 1981, was studied by comparing the influences of the following clinical parameters: a low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), a high pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP), a high pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), tricuspid regurgitation (TR), a high right ventricular end-diastolic pressure (RVEDP) and a giant left atrium (GLA). The patients with a functional capacity of class III or IV according to the New York Heart Association were classified into 3 groups (improved, unimproved and died), and from this data we calculated the improvement ratio and the mortality rate. The improvement ratios were 73% in patients with a low LVEF, 70% with a high PASP, 78% with a high PVR, 66% with TR, 11% with a high RVEDP and 77% with a GLA; the mortality rates were 19, 14, 17, 24, 78 and 19%, respectively. As compared with the case of deteriorated left ventricular performance and pulmonary hypertension, deteriorated right ventricular performance, especially high RVEDP, was accompanied by a comparatively poorer surgical prognosis. It is concluded that mitral valve surgery should be performed during the period in which the right ventricular function is still preserved.