Mitral Valve Stenosis

Diagnosis

Mitral valve stenosis may be suspected by your pediatrician or family doctor based on symptoms and the presence of a heart murmur. Your doctor may refer you to a cardiologist to confirm the diagnosis by performing one or more tests:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) – This test tracks the electrical activity of your heart to check for any abnormalities. For this test, special adhesive pads are placed on your skin. These pads are attached to wires that display your heart’s electrical activity on a monitor.
• Echocardiogram (Echo, Doppler, or heart ultrasound) – This test uses sound waves to create a video of your heart function. Your doctor or a specially trained technician will move a device shaped like a wand (transducer) on the outside of your chest. This device creates images of the chambers of your heart and the function of your valves. Your doctor may perform several echos on you every year to follow the progress of your mitral valve stenosis and to determine if and when it is severe enough to require a valve procedure.
• Chest X-ray – A chest X-ray may reveal an enlargement of the heart's left upper chamber, or signs of increased lung pressure, due to mitral valve stenosis.
• Cardiac catheterization – This test may be recommended to double-check the severity of the mitral valve stenosis, especially if it's severe enough to need a procedure to repair or replace the valve. During cardiac catheterization, your cardiologist threads a very thin tube, called a catheter, into a blood vessel near the groin and moves the catheter toward the heart to measure pressures in all the heart chambers. Your doctor may introduce a dye through the catheter to take additional pictures of the inside of the heart.

Possible complications

Patients with narrowing of the mitral valve can experience fatigue and shortness of breath, especially when climbing stairs, exercising, or doing other activities.

If your valve becomes severely narrowed, you may need to have it repaired or replaced. Without treatment, mitral valve stenosis can lead to serious heart complications.

Severe untreated mitral valve stenosis can increase the risk of heart rhythm problems (an atrial arrhythmia) that increase the risk of clots forming in the heart, thereby increasing the risk of a stroke. Untreated severe mitral valve stenosis can also increase pressure in the lungs, leading to a condition called pulmonary hypertension.