[Diagnosis of subvalvular adhesions in mitral stenosis by 2--dimensional echocardiography]

Echocardiographic signs of subvalvular fusions are discussed, as they frequently complicate the course of mitral stenosis. The diagnostic value of two-dimensional echo-cardiography is established for this abnormality. Subvalvular fusions of the chordal apparatus are shown to be associated with certain signs on the two-dimensional echocardiogram, such as additional echoes under mitral valve cusps in short-axis heart section (sensitivity 67.2%, specificity 90.7%), and mitral orifice drawn towards the interventricular septum (sensitivity 35.7%, specificity 93.5%), thickened subvalvular structures in the long-axis section of the heart's left compartments (sensitivity 40.7%, specificity 82.9%), and fissural or "coma-like" shape of the mitral orifice.