Transesophageal Echocardiographic Evaluation of Pulmonary Venous Flow in Mitral Stenosis

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Normally major forward pulmonary venous flow(PVF) into left atrium occurs during systole and early diastole. This is followed by the reversal of the PVF with atrial contraction during late diastole. Chronic increase of left atrial pressure and volume, and decrease of the left atrial compliance might alter the PVF pattern in patients with mitral stenosis. Moreover, the cardiac rhythm could be changed from sinus rhythm(SR) to atrial fibrillation(AF) with the progression of the disease. To elucidate the effect of these changes on PVF, we performed transesophageal echocardiographic(TEE) Doppler examination in 20 patients of mitral stenosis who were going to be taken Percutaneous mitral commissurotomy(PMC). METHOD: We measured the velocities of the PVF by TEE pulsed Doppler examination, and compared it with the hemodynamic parameters measured by cardiac catheterization in 20 patients of mitral stenosis who underwent the PMC. The SR was found in 12 patients and the rest showed established AF. RESULTS: 1) Doppler variables measured by TEE. 2) Hemodynamic parameters measured by cardiac catheterization. 3) In patients with SR, S-PV, S-VTI and S-FVTI showed negative correlation with mean LAP(r=-0.66, -0.67, -0.71, respectively, p<0.05). However in AF group, there is no correlation between Doppler variables and mean LAP. CONCLUSION: In mitral stenosis with SR, systolic PVF decreases with the increase of mean left atrial pressure and finally, diastolic PVE becomes predominant with the development of AF.