[The value of conventional chest radiography in the interpretation of pulmonary hemodynamics in mitral valve disease (author's transl)].

Standard biplane chest roentgenograms of 107 patients suffering from acquired mitral valve disease were independently interpreted by two radiologists. Fluoroscopy was performed for detection of mitral valve calcification. The effective pressures in the pulmonary vascular bed were not known at the time of the film reading. Using the most valuable roentgen signs (enlargement of the left atrium, valvular calcification, configuration of the right ventricular outflow tract, size of the central pulmonary arteries and degree of pulmonary interstitial edema), each case was graded from zero to nine points. The two readers widely agree in the classification of the roentgen findings in most cases. There is a strong positive correlation between the radiographic changes and the pulmonary artery mean pressure.