Echocardiography III Exam 1 Practice

Mitral stenosis can be treated in several ways to relieve the obstruction and restore valve function, chosen based on the valve’s anatomy and the patient’s situation. Valvuloplasty, whether done percutaneously or surgically, dilates the stenotic mitral orifice by separating fused commissures and thinning or splitting fused leaflets, which is particularly effective when the valve is pliable and not heavily calcified. If the valve anatomy is favorable and the tissue can be repaired rather than replaced, mitral valve repair aims to restore normal leaflet motion and proper valve competence, sometimes addressing any accompanying regurgitation while preserving the native valve. When the valve is too damaged, calcified, or otherwise not amenable to durable repair, mitral valve replacement is performed, substituting a prosthetic valve to guarantee unobstructed flow. Because each of these approaches can be used depending on specific valve pathology, all three—valvuloplasty, repair, and replacement—are valid treatments for valvular mitral stenosis.