RESUMEN
Three hundred patients with severe symptomatic rheumatic mitral stenosis underwent balloon mitral valvotomy [BMV] at Queen Alia Heart Institute [QAHI] during the period between May 1988 to April 1994. The clinical characteristics, immediate procedural outcome, hemodynamic variables, two-dimensional echocardiography and Doppler-derived mitral valve area [MVA] were retrospectively analyzed. There were 226 females and 74 males with a mean age of 34.4 +/- 13.5 years. Sixty-four patients [21%] were in atrial fibrillation. Sixteen patients had prior surgical mitral commissurotomy, 3 patients [1%] had prior aortic valve replacement [AVR], 22 patients [7.3%] had