[Pathological classification and clinical implications on rheumatic heart disease with giant heart]

Between Jan. 1982 and July, 1993, 102 patients with rheumatic giant heart disease (cardio-thoracic ratio > or = 0.8) underwent valve replacement. Heart functional class III was in 54 patients, and class IV in 48. Early mortality was 8.8%, late mortality 3.6%. We classified the patients into five types, based on the valvular lesions, dilated degree of each atrial and ventricular chamber: Type I, giant left atrium (LA); Type II, obvious enlargement of LA and left ventricle (LV); Type III; obvious enlargement of LA, right atrium and ventricule (RA and RV); Type IV; all chambers obviously dilated; Type V, giant LA and RA. Clinical results showed that this kind of classification can reflect kinds of diseased valves, pathophysiological changes and clinical characteristics, and postoperative early and late outcomes, also can offer useful suggestions to operative method selection, and has great clinical significance for perioperative management.