Treatment
Treatment is not necessary in asymptomatic patients.
The treatment options for mitral stenosis include medical management, mitral valve replacement by surgery, and percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty by balloon catheter.
The indication for invasive treatment with either a mitral valve replacement or valvuloplasty is NYHA functional class III or IV symptoms.
Another option is balloon dilatation. To determine which patients would benefit from percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty, a scoring system has been developed. Scoring is based on 4 echocardiographic criteria: leaflet mobility, leaflet thickening, subvalvar thickening, and calcification. Individuals with a score of ≥ 8 tended to have suboptimal results. Superb results with valvotomy are seen in individuals with a crisp opening snap, score < 8, and no calcium in the commissures.
Treatment also focuses on concomitant conditions often seen in mitral stenosis:
- Any angina is treated with short-acting nitrovasodilators, beta-blockers and/or calcium blockers
- Any hypertension is treated aggressively, but caution must be taken in administering beta-blockers
- Any heart failure is treated with digoxin, diuretics, nitrovasodilators and, if not contraindicated, cautious inpatient administration of ACE inhibitors
Read more about this topic: Mitral Stenosis
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—Hippocrates (c. 460–c. 370 B.C.)
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—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)