Mitral Valve Transesophageal Echocardiography PDF

Preface

Over the past few years transesophageal echocardiography has become one of the most exciting imaging modalities available today in modern clinical cardiology. Transesophageal echocardiography and MRI imaging has substantially improved our understanding of mitral valve anatomy and physiology with multiplane transesophageal echocardiography having a true advantage through its portability, relatively inexpensive equipment and seminoninvasive nature. Multiplane transesophageal echocardiography provides high resolution cardiac images in an infinite number of planes. When combined with conventional and color Doppler modalities, this offers a superlative diagnostic tool for evaluating cardiac structure and function. Multiplane transesophageal echocardiography provides a three-dimensional perspective, especially of the mitral valve, that cannot be appreciated even by the cardiac pathologist. This point is illustrated by multiple carefully prepared anatomic sections, matched with diagrams and multiplane transesophageal images. After finishing our original text, the Atlas of Multiplane Transesophageal Echocardiography, we were approached by many physicians to provide a smaller concise reference just on the mitral valve, as the importance of mitral regurgitation has blossomed in modern cardiology. The aim of this atlas is to provide medical students, anesthesiologists, cardiac surgeons and cardiologists with an in-depth analysis of the mitral valve from an experience of over 15,000 transesophageal echocardiograms performed by the authors, with over 15 years in the operative arena studying mitral repair techniques. This atlas may also serve as a reference for diagnostic examples of mitral pathology for physicians who practice transesophageal echocardiography. The text is not meant to be a complete or authoritative reference for the mitral valve, but to serve as a starting point or "how-to" reference for studying the mitral valve structure and function. With the new emphasis on the possibility of replacing or repairing mitral valves when patients are asymptomatic, it is extremely important for echocardiographers to possess a clear understanding of mitral valve abnormalities in order to address surgical decision-making properly with our surgical colleagues. The format begins with normal mitral valve structure and function, followed by abnormalities of the mitral valve unit. Chapters include evaluation of prostheses, interventional cardiology techniques, and intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography, especially how it relates to mitral valve repair. A concise explanation of measurements of cardiac chamber sizes and function and Doppler are provided only for transesophageal echocardiographic applications. As in the original atlas, transesophageal echocardiographic images are juxtaposed with correlative anatomic specimens to provide a graphical understanding of normal and abnormal mitral valve anatomy.