Description of the Disease
Mitral stenosis is a condition that is an acquired heart defect, meaning a defect that develops during a person's life. In this condition, the anterior and posterior leaflets of the mitral (atrioventricular) valve, located between the left atrium and left ventricle, fuse together.
In addition, the chordae tendineae and papillary muscles located under the leaflets fuse together and with the leaflets. As a result, the mobility of the leaflets during opening and closing is sharply limited, hindering the normal flow of blood through the valve. Consequently, there is a stagnation of blood in the pulmonary vessels.
Causes of the Disease
In most cases, atrioventricular opening stenosis has a rheumatic etiology.
The onset of rheumatism occurs at a young age, and clinically pronounced mitral stenosis develops over 20-30 years.
Other causes leading to mitral stenosis may include infectious endocarditis, heart trauma, syphilis, severe calcification of the ring and leaflets of the mitral valve, atherosclerosis, left atrial myxoma, and congenital heart defect (Lutembacher syndrome).
Symptoms of the Disease
The main complaints with this pathology are shortness of breath during physical exertion and at rest, which is caused by blood stagnation in the pulmonary vessels.
With prolonged existence of mitral stenosis, a persistent cough, heart palpitations, and hemoptysis may occur.
If the above symptoms appear, it is necessary to consult a cardiologist.
Diagnostics of the Disease
One of the specific and common methods for diagnosing mitral stenosis is echocardiography. This method of ultrasound diagnostics detects the presence of mitral stenosis in the patient, determines the degree of its severity, and the degree of blood stasis in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension).
After this diagnosis, the doctor can assess the patient's operability.
Treatment of the Disease
Treatment of mitral stenosis can be done in two ways:
1. Conservative Treatment
A complex of measures aimed at lifestyle changes and the use of medications aimed at reducing clinical manifestations and slowing down the progression of the disease.
2. Surgical Treatment
Surgical intervention, the goal of which is to restore normal blood flow through the narrowed atrioventricular opening and thereby relieve the pulmonary vessels from excessive blood volume.
The essence of the operation is to replace the altered, poorly functioning valve with a mechanical or biological prosthesis.
Prognosis of Treatment
In the case of the natural course of the disease (without treatment), mitral stenosis can lead to disability of the patient. In advanced cases, mitral stenosis is complicated by the addition of a dangerous rhythm disorder - atrial fibrillation, or can lead to fatal consequences: pulmonary edema and death of the patient.
The survival rate of decompensated and non-operated patients over 10 years does not exceed 15%.
With the formation of severe pulmonary hypertension, the average life expectancy does not exceed 3 years.
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