Introduction Mitral valve prolapse is the most common structural cause of chronic mitral regurgitation leading to surgery in developed countries. The prevalence of mitral valve prolapse has been reported to be 2.5%. Mitral valve repair is the clear treatment choice…
Introduction Mitral stenosis is quite uncommon in Western countries, yet it still is a frequent problem worldwide, particularly in developing countries. The low incidence in the United States, in particular, is largely because rheumatic fever resulting in rheumatic heart disease…
The complexity of the mitral valve is such that two-dimensional (2D) imaging does not adequately describe its anatomy and function. Indeed, the mitral valve apparatus is a dynamic three-dimensional (3D) structure composed of the saddle-shaped annulus; two asymmetric leaflets; multiple…
Introduction The aortic valve is the third largest valve in the body, behind the tricuspid and mitral valves, and has a typical valve area of 3 to 4 cm 2 . Despite its smaller size, it is arguably the most important…
Introduction Technologic advances continue to propel cardiac visualization forward. Advances in miniaturization, computer processing, and algorithms continue to have significant momentum. New acquisition technologies, coupled with the ability to process, display, and quantify enormous amounts of data, have pushed echocardiography…
Introduction Two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) has been one of the most established and ubiquitous diagnostic tools in cardiology over the past several decades. Echocardiography has come a long way from the early years of A and M modalities. Although transthoracic and…
Introduction Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) has been in existence since the 1970s, albeit with images that barely resembled a heart at that time. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, 3DE was limited by computing power, both at the workstation and at the…