Accuracy of two-dimensional echocardiographic planimetry of the mitral valve area before and after balloon valvuloplasty.

The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of planimetry after percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV). The mitral valve area (MVA) was estimated in 34 patients before and after PBMV, using two-dimensional echocardiographic planimetry, Doppler pressure half-time (PHT), and the Gorlin formula. There was no significant difference in the correlation of planimetry and PHT before (r = 0.53, p = 0.001) and after PBMV (r = 0.56, p < 0.001). A similar correlation was found between planimetry and the Gorlin formula (r = 0.44, p = 0.01 before PBMV, r = 0.37, p = 0.03 after PBMV). The concordance between planimetry, PHT, and the Gorlin formula in classifying patients into mild, moderate, or severe mitral stenosis was not worse after PBMV. Planimetry-derived MVA was not less accurate after PBMV than before PBMV. However, the correlation between the two echocardiographic measurements and the Gorlin formula was only moderate.