Echocardiogram: Screening for valvular heart disease in an out- patient clinic

ABSTRACT

Congenital and acquired Valvular heart diseases [VHD] remain a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality especially in the developing countries. It presents a diagnostic challenge in all age groups and often occurs in association with other types of heart diseases. Echocardiogram remains a gold standard for the diagnosis and periodic assessment of patients with VHD. Early recognition is important in the management of VHD. Therefore, this study was conducted to describe the pattern of various VHD in patients presenting at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases [NICVD] Karachi, Pakistan. Among 525 patients studied we found 403 patients with Mitral Regurgitation [MR], 187 Tricuspid Regurgitation [TR], 182 Aortic Regurgitation [AR], 134 Mitral Stenosis [MS], 60 Aortic Stenosis [AS], 11 Pulmonic Stenosis [PS], 8 Tricuspid Stenosis [TS] and 8 Pulmonic Regurgitation [PR]. Combined mitral valve disease [both MS and MR] 90 [17.1%], combined aortic valve disease [both AS and AR] 50 [9.5%], mixed valvular heart disease i-e both aortic and mitral valves disease were 85 [16.2%]. Rheumatic heart disease [RHD] was present in 189 patients [36%] with mean age of 28.4 +/- 11.8 years