Degenerative mitral valve stenosis diagnosis and management: literature review

 Gustė Burneikaitė1

1Hospital of Vilnius University Santaros Clinics, Cardiology and Angiosurgery center, Lithuania

Abstract

Introduction. Mitral valve stenosis is fairly common valvular heart disease characterized by narrowing of the mitral valve orifice. The number of incidences of degenerative mitral valve stenosis are growing in developed countries. Accurate assessment and treatment of pathology is challenge in modern medicine due to changes in the structure of atrium and valve as well as other comorbidities in the aging population.

Aim. To review information related to degenerative mitral valve stenosis especially its diagnosis and treatment options.

Methods. The review of literature was conducted using medical database PubMed selecting publications investigating degenerative mitral valve stenosis and mitral annular calcification. Keywords were entered in the advanced search panel to gather data. After reviewing all the exclusion criteria, 42 scientific articles were included in this literature review. Review period is 2003 – 2022 with a few older publications.

Results. Extensive mitral valve damage due to annular calcification is observed in degenerative mitral valve stenosis, which makes diagnosis and treatment particularly difficult. This pathology is most common in elderly patients with comorbidities, whose treatment options are limited. The potential for transcatheter mitral implantation can alleviate patient symptoms and improve prognosis, but this method is still not sufficiently analyzed.

Conclusions.  There are still no well-defined guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of degenerative mitral valve stenosis. The most promising diagnostic methods are 3D echocardiography and computed tomography of the heart, treatment – transcatheter mitral valve implantation. More detailed research is needed in this direction.

Keywords: degenerative mitral valve stenosis, mitral annular calcification, diagnosis, management.