[Value of exercise echocardiography in evaluating left ventricular systolic function in mitral stenosis]

Exercise echocardiography was performed for 34 patients with mitral stenosis (MS) to evaluate left ventricular (LV) systolic function. The patients were categorized in three groups according to the work loads attained: Group I, 14 patients who attained 25 watts; Group II, 10 patients, 50 watts; and Group III, 10 patients, 75 watts. Among these groups, there were no statistical differences between the resting echocardiographic LV systolic function and their cardiac catheterization data. Resting LV end-diastolic and end-systolic dimensions (EDD and ESD) did not differ by group. During exercise, EDD and ESD decreased significantly in all groups, but ESD at the maximum exercise in Group I was greater than those of the other groups. The percent fractional shortening of the left ventricle (%FS) decreased significantly with exercise in Group I, while it increased significantly in the other groups. The mean velocity of circumferential fiber shortening (mean Vcf) increased significantly in all groups, but the extent was least in Group I. The exercise-induced changes in %FS (delta %FS) and mean Vcf (delta mean Vcf) correlated closely with exercise duration (r = 0.80, r = 0.73), but this was not the case in the mitral valve area. Postoperatively, exercise echocardiography was also performed for 14 patients with mitral stenosis; two of seven patients in Group I, four of five in Group II, and two in Group III showed significant improvement in exercise tolerance after surgery. However, the other six patients showed no change in their exercise tolerance. The former patients had positive values in delta %FS and more than 0.5 circ/sec in delta mean Vcf during pre-operative evaluations, while except one patient, those who did not improve had negative delta %FS values and less than 0.5 circ/sec in delta mean Vcf. It was concluded that the change in LV systolic function during exercise echocardiography reflects LV functional reserve in patients with MS, and provides valuable information for evaluating the severity of, indications for and benefits from surgery for MS.