Background:

percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty (PMBV) is an effective and recommended treatment for patients with moderate or severe mitral stenosis (MS).

Objectives:

to describe the epidemiological, clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of patients with mitral stenosis undergoing PMBV at the time of the procedure and to follow up at 5, 10 and 15 years.

Design:

retrospective review of a cohort of MS patients treated with PMBV at the CardioVID Clinic. The epidemiological, clinical and echocardiographic characteristics are analyzed before, after the procedure and in the long term. Reintervention-free survival is defined if during the follow-up period the patients do not undergo new PMBV or valve replacement surgery. Failed procedures are defined as a mitral valve area (MVA) pos PMBV <1.5cm2 or mitral insufficiency> 2+. Restenosis is defined as having MVA <1.5 cm2 with loss of 50% or more of the area gained with PMBV.

Results:

162 PMBV realized from January 1993 to December 2011 were analized. Pos-PMBV echocardiography showed that MVA increased from 0.95 ± 0.24cm2 to 1.56 ± 0.33cm2 (p <0.001) as measured by planimetry and 0.96 ± 0.24 cm2 at 1.69 ± 0.41 cm 2 (p <0.0001) calculated by time of hemi pressure. The mean transvalvular gradient decreased from 14.1 ± 5.7 mmHg to 6.9 ± 3.4 mmHg (p <0.001). Survival free of reintervention was 74% at 5 years, 53% at 10 years and 42% at 15 years. Median survival time was 128.8 ± 26.4 months (95% CI 76.8-180.7); in patients with failed procedure was 57.2 ± 6.1 months and in the successful procedure group it was 185.4 ± 25.9 months (p <0.001).

Conclusions:

PMBV is an effective procedure that produces a significant increase in the mitral valve area and significantly delays the need for valve replacement surgery. The MVA pos PMBV <1.5 cm2 was the main negative determinant in the long-term prognosis.