The value of echocardiography in assessing the severity of mitral stenosis.

In a group of 24 patients having pure mitral stenosis, the relation between the echo parameters of the mitral valve and pressures in the pulmonary circulation was studied. On the basis of the authors' results, it was concluded that the sensitivity of one-dimensional echocardiography for the assessment of the severity of mitral stenosis can be further improved by measuring not only the widely accepted parameters, such as the diastolic closing velocity and the motion amplitude of the AML, but also by taking into account the echodiameter of the mitral orifice. Besides, careful observation of the motion pattern of the PML might be of use for distinguishing between a mild and moderate degree of mitral stenosis.