Mitral valve stenosis ) can cause a precipitous decrease in cardiac output and sudden congestive heart failure. Patients with mitral stenosis prompts a series of hemodynamic changes that frequently cause deterioration of the patient's clinical status. A reduction in cardiac output, associated with acceleration of heart rate and shortening of the diastolic time, frequently leads to congestive heart failure. In addition, when AF sets in, systemic embolization becomes a real danger. Mitral stenosis typically progresses slowly (over decades) from the initial signs of mitral stenosis to NYHA functional class II symptoms to the development of atrial fibrillation to the development of NYHA functional
Mitral valve stenosis asymptomatic patients. The treatment options for mitral stenosis include medical management, mitral valve replacement by surgery, and percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty by balloon catheter. The indication for invasive treatment with either a mitral valve replacement or valvuloplasty is NYHA functional class III or IV symptoms. Another option is balloon dilatation. To determine which patients would benefit from percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty, a scoring system has been developed. Scoring is based on 4 echocardiographic criteria: leaflet mobility, leaflet thickening, subvalvar thickening, and calcification. Individuals with a score of ≥ 8 tended to have suboptimal results. Superb results with valvotomy are seen in