General concepts in the morphologic assessment of operatively excised cardiac valves—part I

This two-part article discusses the general morphologic assessment of operatively excised cardiac valves and applies these principles to functional classifications. All cardiac valves are categorized into stenotic and purely regurgitant (no element of stenosis) groups based upon structural features: presence or absence of commissural fusion, calcific deposits, and degree and location of fibrosis. Of 2980 operatively excised cardiac valves reviewed between 1962 and 1992, the most common lesion was aortic stenosis, followed by mitral stenosis and the combination of aortic and mitral stenosis.     

Presence of a congenitally bicuspid aortic valve among patients having combined mitral and aortic valve replacement

Although bicuspid aortic valve occurs in an estimated 1% of adults and mitral valve prolapse in an estimated 5% of adults, occurrence of the 2 in the same patient is infrequent. During examination of operatively excised aortic and mitral valves because of dysfunction (stenosis and/or regurgitation), we encountered 16 patients who had congenitally bicuspid aortic valves associated with various types of dysfunctioning mitral valves. Eleven of the 16 patients had aortic stenosis (AS): 5 of them also had mitral stenosis, of rheumatic origin in 4 and secondary to mitral annular calcium in 1; the other 6 with aortic stenosis had pure mitral regurgitation (MR) secondary to mitral valve prolapse in 3, to ischemia in 2, and to unclear origin in 1. Of the 5 patients with pure aortic regurgitation, each also had pure mitral regurgitation: in 1 secondary to mitral valve prolapse and in 4 secondary to infective endocarditis. In conclusion, various types of mitral dysfunction severe enough to warrant mitral valve replacement occur in patients with bicuspid aortic valves. A proper search for mitral valve dysfunction in patients with bicuspid aortic valves appears warranted.     

Severe mitral or aortic valve regurgitation, or both, requiring valve replacement for infective endocarditis complicating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Certain clinical and morphologic findings are described in 11 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy complicated by infective endocarditis that produced severe mitral or aortic valve regurgitation, or both, necessitating valve replacement. All 11 patients had changes in the operatively excised valve or valves characteristic of healed infective endocarditis. The infection involved only the mitral valve in seven patients, only the aortic valve in three patients and both valves in one patient. Study of the operatively excised mitral valves indicated that the healed vegetations were located most commonly on the left ventricular aspects of the anterior mitral leaflet, indicating that vegetation had formed at contact points of this leaflet with mural endocardium of the left ventricular outflow tract. In all 11 patients, the infective endocarditis either worsened preexisting valve regurgitation or initiated valve regurgitation and led to worsened signs and symptoms of cardiac dysfunction, necessitating valve replacement. Functional class improved in the nine patients who survived 7 to 101 months after valve replacement. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy appears to be a factor predisposing to infective endocarditis. Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy should receive prophylactic antibiotic therapy during procedures that predispose to infective endocarditis.     

Relation of weights of operatively excised stenotic aortic valves to preoperative transvalvular peak systolic pressure gradients and to calculated aortic valve areas

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to correlate the weights of operatively excised stenotic aortic valves to preoperative transvalvular peak systolic gradients and to calculated aortic valve areas. BACKGROUND: No previous publication has correlated the weights of stenotic aortic valves to the transvalvular gradients or to the calculated aortic valve areas. METHODS: We weighed operatively excised stenotic aortic valves in 324 adults who had undergone preoperative left-sided cardiac catheterization. RESULTS: As the weights of the operatively excised stenotic aortic valves increased (from <1 g to >6 g), the average transvalvular peak systolic pressure gradients progressively increased. For any valve weight, in general, the women had higher average transvalvular gradients (p 相似文献   

慢性肾功能衰竭血液透析患者心脏瓣膜病变

目的 :探讨慢性肾功能衰竭维持性血液透析患者心脏瓣膜病变的性质、病因及对心脏结构和功能的影响。方法 :通过彩色多谱勒心动超声检查观察 6 4例慢性肾功能衰竭维持性血液透析患者心脏瓣膜钙化的程度、瓣膜面积、狭窄或关闭不全及血生化指标。结果 :6 4例患者中发现二尖瓣钙化 9例 ,二尖瓣返流 5例 ,二尖瓣面积减少致狭窄 2例 ,主动脉瓣钙化 12例 ,主动脉瓣返流 7例 ,二尖瓣并发主动脉瓣钙化 3例。结论 :慢性肾功能衰竭维持性血液透析患者心脏瓣膜病变均以钙化为主 ,尤以二尖瓣、主动脉瓣易发 ,且钙化程度与钙磷乘积、继发性甲状旁腺机能亢进和血液透析年限密切相关。     

Accessory mitral valve tissue in association with bicuspid aortic valve and aortic coarctation

Accessory mitral valve tissue (AMVT) is a rare congenital malformation of the heart. The first case of AMVT was described in 1842. The first surgical treatment of this lesion was published in 1963 and the first echocardiography (ECHO) diagnosis of AMVT was performed in 1985.A 50-year-old male with medical history of surgery of aortic coarctation 39 years ago was accepted to the hospital because of dyspnoea and repeated pain in the left thorax. ECHO revealed bicuspid aortic valve including progressive dilatation of an aortic root and ascending aorta with mild aortic regurgitation. Dilatation of mitral annulus with moderate regurgitation (without stenosis) and accessory mitral valve tissue combined with trivial obstruction of left ventricle outflow tract (LVOT) was also present. AMVT with chordae was excised and mitral annuloplasty has been accomplished. Aortic root remodelling (Yacoub procedure) combined with an aortic valve repair and extra-aortic ring implantation has been performed subsequently. Control ECHO one year following surgery showed no regurgitation on either aortic or mitral valve.Symptomatology of the patient depends on the presence of AMVT associated with LVOT obstruction, moderate affection of aortic and mitral valves and on concomitant cardiovascular malformations. Echocardiography plays a principal role in the diagnosis, follow-up and indication of surgery of patients with this congenital lesion. Clinically silent AMVT requires follow-up, but it is not an indication for surgery itself. On the other hand AMVT associated with LVOT obstruction or mitral stenosis is an indication for surgery, especially combined with other cardiac malformations.     

慢性肾衰竭维持性腹膜透析患者心脏瓣膜钙化危险因素

目的探讨慢性肾衰竭维持性腹膜透析患者心脏瓣膜钙化病因及干预治疗的方法。方法将入选的46例慢性肾衰竭维持性腹膜透析患者随机分为两组：a组（常规腹透液治疗组）与b组（低钙腹透液治疗组）,观察治疗84周前后心脏瓣膜钙化及血生化指标的变化。结果a组患者84周后发生二尖瓣钙化4例,二尖瓣返流1例,二尖瓣面积减少致狭窄1例,主动脉瓣钙化5例,主动脉瓣返流1例;b组84周后仅发现二尖瓣钙化1例,主动脉钙化1例。瓣膜钙化发生率与患者血钙、血磷水平、钙磷乘积及PTH（全段甲状旁腺激素）相关。结论慢性肾衰竭维持性腹透患者心脏瓣膜钙化相当常见,高钙、高磷血症、高PTH为心脏瓣膜钙化的危险因素。低钙透析液能显著减少维持性腹透患者心脏瓣膜钙化风险。     

Mitral valve commissurotomy versus replacement. Considerations based on examination of operatively excised stenotic mitral valves.

Among 164 patients who underwent mitral valve replacement because of mitral stenosis (with or without mitral regurgitation) and had radiographs taken of their operatively excised mitral valves, 20 had absent or minimal calcific deposits in the excised valves and absent or minimal mitral regurgitation as determined, except for one patient, by left ventricular angiography preoperatively. This report focuses on these 20 patients to ask if mitral valve replacement was preferable to mitral valve commissurotomy. Although in the pre-valve replacement era, all 20 patients almost surely would have been considered good candidates for mitral commissurotomy, other factors, namely, the need to replace one or more other cardiac valves (13 patients), the utilization of cardiopulmonary bypass allowing visual inspection rather than simple palpation of the diseased mitral valve (all 20 patients), relatively little experience with mitral commissurotomy in four of the five surgeons (17 patients), displeasure with attempted commissurotomy (three patients), previous mitral commissurotomy (11 patients), and incorrect identification of mitral calcific deposits (two patients), each contributed in one or more patients to the final decision of replacement versus commissurotomy. Even though mitral commissurotomy has been in use for 30 years, the mere alternative of valve replacement may have altered somewhat the definition of the stenotic mitral valve previously considered ideal for mitral commissurotomy.     

Morphologic features of the normal and abnormal mitral valve

Anatomic and functional features of the normal and abnormal mitral valve are reviewed. Of 1,010 personally studied necropsy patients with severe (functional class III or IV, New York Heart Association) cardiac dysfunction from primary valvular heart disease, 434 (43%) had mitral stenosis (MS) with or without mitral regurgitation (MR): unassociated with aortic valve stenosis or regurgitation or with tricuspid valve stenosis in 189 (44%) patients, and associated with aortic stenosis in 152 (35%), with pure (no element of stenosis) aortic regurgitation in 65 (15%) patients, and with tricuspid valve stenosis with or without aortic valve stenosis in 28 (6%) patients. The origin of MS was rheumatic in all 434 patients. Of the 1,010 necropsy patients, 165 (16%) had pure MR (papillary muscle dysfunction excluded): unassociated with aortic valve stenosis or regurgitation or with tricuspid valve stenosis in 97 (59%) patients, and associated with pure aortic regurgitation in 45 (27%) and with aortic valve stenosis in 23 (14%) patients. When associated with dysfunction of the aortic valve, pure MR was usually rheumatic in origin, but when unassociated with aortic valve dysfunction it was usually nonrheumatic in origin. Review of operatively excised mitral valves in patients with pure MR unassociated with aortic valve dysfunction disclosed mitral valve prolapse (most likely an inherent congenital defect) as the most common cause of MR. Excluding the patients with MR from coronary heart disease (papillary muscle dysfunction), mitral prolapse was the cause of MR in 60 (88%) of the other 68 patients, and a rheumatic origin was responsible in only 3 of the 68 patients, all 68 of whom were greater than 30 years of age. Mitral anular calcification in persons aged greater than 65 years is usually associated with calcific deposits in the aortic valve cusps and in the coronary arteries. Because calcium in each of these 3 sites is common in older individuals residing in the Western World, it is most reasonable to view mitral anular calcification in older individuals as a manifestation of atherosclerosis. Mitral anular calcium appears to be extremely uncommon in persons with total serum cholesterol levels less than 150 mg/dl. Mitral anular calcium may produce mild MR and, if the deposits are heavy enough, MS.     

Combined aortic and mitral valve replacement in an adult with mucopolysaccharidosis (Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome)

Summary A 41-year-old man with aortic stenosis, mitral stenosis, and tricuspid regurgitation due to Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome underwent aortic and mitral valve replacement with tricuspid annuloplasty. The annular diameter of the aortic and mitral valves was extremely small. The valve prostheses were 19 mm in diameter in the aortic position and 25 mm in the mitral position. Histologically, the valves showed thickening and hyalinization of the collagen fibers, and the presence of foamy cells that contained a large quantity of pure acid mucopolysaccharide. On an echocardiographic examination performed 2 years after the surgery, the peak systolic gradient of the trans-aortic valve was 18 mmHg at rest, and 26 mmHg during exercise. Careful observation of the residual pressure gradient will be needed. The patient's present New York Heart Association (NYHA) status is grade I and he has returned to work.     

Aortic valve replacement for aortic stenosis in nonagenarians

We reviewed certain clinical and morphologic findings in 9 patients who had aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic stenosis (AS) when >or=90 years of age. All had AVR from February 2000 to April 2006. The aortic valve areas ranged from 0.41 to 1.00 cm2, and the transvalvular peak systolic gradients ranged from 20 to 110 mm Hg. The left ventricular ejection fractions were >or=50% in 6 of the 9 patients. The aortic valve was congenitally bicuspid in 3 patients, and the operatively excised valves in them weighed 4.20, 5.73, and 9.75 g, respectively (mean 6.56). The other 6 patients had 3-cuspid valves without commissural fusion, and the operatively excised valves in them weighed 0.43, 0.94, 1.08, 1.51, 1.98, and 4.43 g, respectively (median 1.30, mean 1.73). Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was performed at the time of AVR in 8 of the patients. One patient died a day postoperatively and 2 others died 874 and 1,011 days, respectively, after operation. Two were in skilled nursing units postoperatively for several weeks. In conclusion, AS can be severe in nonagenarians and may be superimposed on a congenitally bicuspid aortic valve.     

Clinical and necropsy observations early after simultaneous replacement of the mitral and aortic valves

Clinical and necropsy findings are described in 54 patients, aged 25 to 83 years (mean 53), who died within 60 days of simultaneous replacements of both mitral and aortic valves. The patients were separated into 4 groups on the basis of the presence of stenosis (with or without associated regurgitation) or pure regurgitation of each valve: 30 patients (56%) had combined mitral and aortic valve stenosis; 12 patients (22%) had mitral stenosis and pure aortic regurgitation; 8 patients (15%) had pure regurgitation of both valves; and 4 patients (7%) had pure aortic regurgitation and mitral stenosis. Necropsy examination in the 54 patients disclosed a high frequency (48%) of anatomic evidence of interference to poppet or disc movement in either the mitral or aortic valve position or both. Anatomic evidence of interference to movement of a poppet or disc in the aortic valve position was twice as common as anatomic evidence of interference to poppet or disc movement in the mitral position. Interference to poppet movement is attributable to the prosthesis's being too large for the ascending aorta or left ventricular cavity in which it resided. The ascending aorta is infrequently enlarged in patients with combined mitral and aortic valve dysfunction irrespective of whether the aortic valve is stenotic or purely regurgitant. Likewise, the left ventricular cavity is usually not dilated in patients with combined mitral and aortic valve stenosis, the most common indication for replacement of both left-sided cardiac valves. Of the 54 patients, 12 (22%) had 1 mechanical and 1 bioprosthesis inserted. It is recommended that both substitute valves should be mechanical prostheses or both should be bioprostheses.     

Transcatheter valve-in-valve implantation for failed surgical bioprosthetic valves

When bioprosthetic cardiac valves fail, reoperative valve replacement carries a higher risk of morbidity and mortality compared with initial valve replacement. Transcatheter heart valve implantation may be a viable alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement for high-risk patients with native aortic stenosis, and valve-in-valve (V-in-V) implantation has been successfully performed for failed surgical bioprostheses in the aortic, mitral, pulmonic, and tricuspid positions. Despite some core similarities to transcatheter therapy of native valve disease, V-in-V therapy poses unique clinical and anatomic challenges. In this paper, we review the challenges, selection criteria, techniques, and outcomes of V-in-V implantation.     

Mechanisms of severe mitral regurgitation in mitral valve prolapse determined from analysis of operatively excised valves

Certain clinical and mitral valvular morphologic findings are described in 83 patients (age 26 to 79 years [mean, 60]; 26 women [31%] and 57 men [69%]) with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and mitral regurgitation (MR) severe enough to warrant mitral valve replacement. All 83 operatively excised valves were examined by the same person, and all excised valves had been purely regurgitant (no element of stenosis). No patients had hemodynamic evidence of dysfunction of the aortic valve. In each valve a portion of the posterior mitral leaflet was elongated such that the distance from the distal margin to basal attachment of this leaflet was similar to the distance from the distal margin of the anterior leaflet to its basal attachment to the left atrial wall. Two major mechanisms for the severe MR were found: dilatation of the mitral anulus with or without rupture of chordae tendineae and rupture of chordae tendineae with or without dilatation of the mitral anulus. Of the 83 patients, 48 (58%) had both dilated anuli (greater than 11 cm in circumference) and ruptured chordae tendineae; 16 (19%) had dilated anuli without ruptured chordae, and 16 (19%) had ruptured chordae without significant anular dilatation. In three patients the anulus was not dilated, nor were chordae ruptured, and therefore the mechanism of the MR is uncertain. Mitral chordal rupture was nearly as frequent in the 64 patients with clearly dilated anular circumferences as in the 19 patients with normal or insignificantly dilated anular circumferences (less than or equal to 11 cm).     

Doppler echocardiography assessment of prosthetic heart valves

Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography is an accurate noninvasive method for the evaluation of prosthetic valve function. The flow characteristics and pressure gradients of normally functioning mechanical and bioprosthetic valves have been, in general established. Normal functioning mitral valve prostheses have a valve area > 1.8 cm² with the St. Jude valve having the largest effective valve area and normally functioning aortic prosthetic valves have a peak instantaneous gradient of < 45 mmHg, with the Starr-Edwards valves (Starr-Edwards, Irvine CA) showing the highest gradients. The incidence of minimal or mild regurgitation is approximately 15% to 30% in the mitral position and 25% to 50% in the aortic position, with the higher incidence of regurgitation seen with mechanical compared to bioprosthetic valves. Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography can accurately detect patients with prosthetic valvular stenosis. The presence of prosthetic aortic regurgitation can also generally be accurately assessed, except in the presence of both prosthetic aortic and mitral valves. Assessment of prosthetic mitral regurgitation remains limited due to significant attenuation of the ultrasound beam by the prosthesis and the frequent underestimation of severity of regurgitation. Other limitations of transthoracic studies include assessment of leaflet morphology, detection of vegetations and valve abscesses, and differentiation between valvular and paravalvular regurgitation.     

Intraoperative echocardiography and Doppler color flow mapping in freehand allograft aortic valve and root replacement

Intraoperative epicardial echocardiography and color flow Doppler were performed before and after cardiopulmonary bypass in 17 consecutive patients undergoing 20 freehand allograft aortic valve replacements. Native aortic valves were replaced in 12, and prostheses in 8 patients. Precardiopulmonary bypass echocardiography estimates of annular diameter guided allograft selection and predicted length of allograft aortic root required, defined coronary situs, and revealed other cardiac abnormalities. These included unanticipated severe mitral regurgitation (which precluded allograft aortic valve replacements in one patient), left-to-right shunts in the membranous septum, ascending aortic dissection, and aortic root pathology requiring coronary reimplantation or bypass. Postcardiopulmonary bypass echocardiography demonstrated acceptable competency of 18/19 allograft valves (mild or no aortic insufficiency), and successful repair of 3/4 shunts. Mild mitral regurgitation was detected more often at postcardiopulmonary bypass than precardiopulmonary bypass (15 vs 11 cases) and postcardiopulmonary bypass estimates of mitral regurgitation severity corollated well with subsequent postoperative follow-up. IOE allows selection and thawing of the allograft valves prior to aortic cross clamping, minimizing cross-clamp time. It detects important concomitant cardiac abnormalities, and predicts postoperative allograft valve and mitral competency. Intraoperative echocardiography Doppler, is therefore, a useful adjunct for allograft aortic valve replacements or aortic root replacement.     

Aschoff bodies at necropsy in valvular heart disease. Evidence from an analysis of 543 patients over 14 years of age that rheumatic heart disease, at least anatomically, is a disease of the mitral valve

Among 543 necropsy patients over age 14 years with severe chronic valvular heart disease, Aschoff bodies were found in 11 patients (2%). The ages of the 11 patients ranged from 18 to 68 years (avg. 38), and nine had had a history of acute rhematic fever earlier in life. Clinically, nine of the 11 patients had mitral stenosis with or without dysfunction of one or more other cardiac valves, one had isolated aortic regurgitation, and one had both mitral and aortic regurgitation. All 11 patients had diffuse fibrous thickening of the mitral valve leaflets, and all but one had diffuse anatomic lesions of at least one other cardiac valve. No patient with anatomic lesions limited to the aortic valve had Aschoff bodies. Thus, among patients with chronic valvular heart disease, Aschoff bodies, the only anatomic lesion pathognomonic of rheumatic heart disease, indicate diffuse anatomic lesions of the mitral leaflets and usually also anatomic lesions of one or more other cardiac valves. The functional mitral lesion is usually stenosis.     

Simultaneous transapical transcatheter aortic valve replacement and transcatheter mitral valve replacement for native valvular stenosis

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is well established for patients who cannot undergo surgery (Leon et al., N Engl J Med 2010;363:1597) or are high risk for surgery (Smith et al., N Engl J Med 2011;364:2187–2198). Experience with the TAVR procedure has led to recent reports of successful transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) procedures (Cheung et al., J Am Coll Cardiol 2014;64:1814; Seiffert et al., J Am Coll Cardiol Interv 2012;5:341–349) separately or simultaneously with the TAVR. However, these reports were of simultaneous valve‐in‐valve procedures (Cheung Anson, et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2013;61:1759–1766). A recent report from Portugal also reported simultaneous transpical implantation of an inverted transcatheter aortic valve‐in‐ring in the mitral position and transcatheter aortic valve (Hasan et al., Circulation 2013;128:e74–e76). There has been an experience of TMVR only in native mitral valve for mitral valve stenosis, but none in both aortic and mitral valves. We report the first in human case of simultaneous transapical TAVR and TMVR in native valves secondary to valvular stenosis. Our patient was not a candidate for percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty secondary to a high Wilkins Score. Sizing of the aortic valve was based on the transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE), whereas sizing of the mitral valve was based on TEE measurements and balloon inflation during left ventriculography. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Morphological findings in 192 surgically excised native mitral valves

INTRODUCTION: Mitral valve disease (MVD) is a significant clinical problem that is becoming more common in the 21st century. The pathogenesis of MVD seems to be changing and is not well understood. patientS AND METHODS: The present study details the morphological findings in 192 native mitral valves excised over a one-year period at the Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario. The mean patient age was 59.7+/-12.3 years at operation. RESULTS: There were 106 men (55.2%) and 86 women (44.8%) in the present study. The most frequent changes in the surgically excised valvular leaflets were fibrosis (78.6%) and thickening (66.2%). Fusion (32.3%) and calcification (25.2%) were common changes at the commissures. Chordae tendineae most often showed evidence of thickening (47.9%) and fibrosis (37.0%). In total, 110 valves showed mitral incompetence (57.3%), 72 showed mitral stenosis (37.5%), and 10 showed a combination of stenosis and incompetence (5.2%). CONCLUSIONS: In the present series, MVD was most frequently caused by postinflammatory (rheumatic) valve disease (RVD) (35.9%), followed by myxomatous degeneration (33.3%). Patients with RVD were usually female (66.7%), while those with myxomatous degeneration were more likely to be male (76.6%). RVD remains a significant problem even though the incidence of acute rheumatic fever with cardiac involvement has declined in Canada. This most likely reflects the current sociodemographic composition of the referral population.     

Echocardiographic versus Histologic Findings in Marfan Syndrome

This retrospective study attempted to establish the prevalence of multiple-valve involvement in Marfan syndrome and to compare echocardiographic with histopathologic findings in Marfan patients undergoing valvular or aortic surgery.We reviewed echocardiograms of 73 Marfan patients who underwent cardiovascular surgery from January 2004 through October 2009. Tissue histology was available for comparison in 29 patients.Among the 73 patients, 66 underwent aortic valve replacement or the Bentall procedure. Histologic findings were available in 29 patients, all of whom had myxomatous degeneration. Of 63 patients with moderate or severe aortic regurgitation as determined by echocardiography, 4 had thickened aortic valves. The echocardiographic findings in 18 patients with mitral involvement included mitral prolapse in 15. Of 11 patients with moderate or severe mitral regurgitation as determined by echocardiography, 4 underwent mitral valve repair and 7 mitral valve replacement. Histologic findings among mitral valve replacement patients showed thickened valve tissue and myxomatous degeneration. Tricuspid involvement was seen echocardiographically in 8 patients, all of whom had tricuspid prolapse. Two patients had severe tricuspid regurgitation, and both underwent repair. Both mitral and tricuspid involvement were seen echocardiographically in 7 patients.Among the 73 patients undergoing cardiac surgery for Marfan syndrome, 66 had moderate or severe aortic regurgitation, although their valves manifested few histologic changes. Eighteen patients had mitral involvement (moderate or severe mitral regurgitation, prolapse, or both), and 8 had tricuspid involvement. Mitral valves were most frequently found to have histologic changes, but the tricuspid valve was invariably involved.