Mitral valve repair available in Europe but still in clinical trial in the United States. It is a highly specialized technique only available at select hospitals. Early trial results suggest that it may be a beneficial approach for patients who are at high risk from conventional surgery. As early as January 2000 a team of doctors at the "Instituto de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular" in La Habana, Cuba have performed beating heart mitral valve repair or replacement. The beating heart mitral valve replacement technique is as safe as the arrested heart technique, and is the recommended alternative to arrested heart technique. The analogy
Mitral valve stenosis infective endocarditis where the vegetations may favor increase risk of stenosis. Other rare causes include mitral annular calcification, endomyocardial fibroelastosis, malignant carcinoid syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, whipple disease, fabry disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. hurler' disease, hunter's disease, amyloidosis. The normal area of the mitral valve orifice is about 4 to 6 cm. In normal cardiac physiology, the mitral valve opens during left ventricular diastole, to allow blood to flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle. A normal mitral valve will not impede the flow of blood from the left atrium to the left ventricle during (ventricular) diastole, and