Echocardiographic determination of the prevalence of primary cardiac valve myxomatous degeneration / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To determine the capability of echocardiography to identify primary cardiac valve myxomatous degeneration (PCVMD) compared to pathological findings and to determine the echo features of PCVMD. Methods Echocardiograms were retrospectively compared with pathological findings of 1080 patients who underwent surgery for moderate or severe valve regurgitation. PCVMD of the mitral,aortic and tricuspid valves was retrospectively identified, with a comparison of the echocardiography and pathology findings,to calculate the prevalence of PCVMD,and to summarize its echocardiography features.Results A total of 104 patients were diagnosed with PCVMD (prevalence of 9. 62%) with 117 lesions.Valvular regurgitation were confirmed by echocardiography in all patients( 100 % ). Valve morphology change including valve prolapsed, valve thickening and redundancy were confirmed by echocardiography in 101 lesions(86.3 % ), but suggestive diagnosis were done by echocardiography in only two patients. Conclusions In patients undergoing surgery for valvular regurgitation,a high prevalence of PCVMD was found. PCVMD had distinctive echocardiographic features,suggesting its preoperative diagnosis.