Ventricular function following mitral valve surgery: assessment using radionuclide ventriculography.

The effects of mitral valve replacement or commissurotomy on cardiac function were studied using radionuclide ventriculography in 13 patients with chronic mitral stenosis and in 8 with chronic mitral regurgitation, before and after mitral valve surgery. The stenosis resulted from rheumatic heart disease in all instances while regurgitation was due to mitral valve prolapse in three patients and rheumatic heart disease in five. Fourteen patients had a Carpentier-Edwards valve inserted and 4 a Lillehei-Kaster disc valve. Three patients with mitral stenosis had an open commissurotomy. All patients underwent supine-rest and symptom-limited exercise radionuclide ventriculography shortly before and 6 to 12 months after operation. The data obtained showed that left ventricular function remained unchanged postoperatively in patients with mitral stenosis but deteriorated in those with mitral regurgitation. Right ventricular function improved postoperatively in those with mitral stenosis but remained unchanged in patients who had regurgitation.