Measurement of interatrial septal thickness by echocardiography in patients with moderate to severe rheumatic mitral stenosis undergoing percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty

BACKGROUND: Longstanding severe rheumatic mitral stenosis (MS) is associated with changes in the atrial chamber dimensions. It is not known whether there is an increased thickness of the inter-atrial septum (IAS) in patients with severe rheumatic mitral stenosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate pre-procedural IAS thickness by echocardiography in patients with moderate to severe rheumatic mitral stenosis undergoing percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV). METHODS: The thickness of the IAS was measured by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in 86 patients between 14 and 65 years of age. Patients with moderate to severe rheumatic mitral stenosis undergoing percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty (PMBV) at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Karachi were recruited for this study. IAS thickness was measured by TEE using standard views and 3 different phases of cardiac cycles were evaluated. RESULTS: Out of 86 patients, almost three fourths (73.3%) were between 14 and 29 years of age and two thirds (62.8%) were females. Mean IAS thickness was 2.56 (SD 0.92) mm at anterior region (AR), 1.89 (SD 0.75) mm at fossa ovalis (FO), and 2.95 (SD 0.97) mm at posterior region (PR). None of the demographic and clinical groups showed any statistically significant difference in IAS thickness. CONCLUSIONS: Inter-atrial septum (IAS) thickness measurement does not change in the presence of moderate to severe rheumatic mitral stenosis as compared to the reported normal values of IAS thickness in cadaveric hearts.