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Updated: Aug 28, 2026

Morphological and Functional Assessment of the Right Ventricle Using 3D Echocardiography
Published on: October 28, 2020
Advancing Assessment of Degenerative Mitral Stenosis: The Role of Three-Dimensional Echocardiography
Gregorio Menzà1, Alessandro Navazio2
1IRCCS-Azienda USL di Reggio nell'Emilia, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, Unità Operativa di Cardiologia, Reggio nell'Emilia, Italy, gregorio.menza@hotmail.com.
Background:
Degenerative mitral stenosis (MS) caused by mitral annular calcification is increasingly recognized in the aging population and differs fundamentally from rheumatic MS in anatomy and pathophysiology. These differences limit the accuracy of conventional two-dimensional echocardiographic assessment.
Summary:
This review highlights the anatomical differences between rheumatic and degenerative MS and their implications for imaging. In degenerative MS, two-dimensional echocardiography is often limited by acoustic shadowing, complex valve geometry, and flow-dependent Doppler measurements. Three-dimensional echocardiography provides a more accurate anatomical assessment of the mitral valve area by adapting planimetric measurements to the underlying valve morphology. In rheumatic MS, measurements are performed at the leaflet tips, whereas in degenerative MS the narrowest orifice is located at the annular level.
Key Messages:
Three-dimensional echocardiography allows etiology-specific planimetric assessment of mitral valve area by identifying the true anatomical orifice in degenerative and rheumatic MS.
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