Interpretation of cardiac pathophysiology from pressure waveform analysis: mitral valve gradients: Part II

Balloon mitral commissurotomy in many patients will be as satisfactory as closed surgical commissurotomy. Data from combined hemodynamic and echocardiographic techniques elegantly elucidate the mechanisms of mitral valve flow and pathophysiology of disturbed pressure relationships between the left atrial and left ventricular chambers, both before and after balloon valvuloplasty. The pulmonary capillary wedge pressure may not be satisfactory to assess the success of gradient reduction after mitral valvuloplasty.