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"What Does Mitral Stenosis Look Like?" Asks Ted

By Adam Pick on May 10, 2010

Ted just sent me a very appropriate question about mitral valve stenosis.

He writes, "Adam - I'll be going in for mitral valve surgery due to stenosis next month. I'm doing my best to cope with the reality of open heart surgery. Quick question... Do you know what mitral valve stenosis looks like? Thanks for everything, Ted"

Severely Calcified Mitral Valve Stenosis

Mitral Valve Stenosis - Calcified Leaflets

As you may know, mitral stenosis is the narrowing of the opening of the heart's mitral valve. Shown above, thickened valve leaflets do not open-and-close properly and causes interference with blood flow.

This picture comes from a 72-year old male who was experiencing symptoms (breathlessness) due to mitral stenosis, according to Dr. Jeremy Jones. The patient required mitral valve replacement.

Although Ted did not explicitly ask for it, many patients are also curious to see the steps by which a mitral valve is replaced. Thanks to The Brazilian Journal of Cardiology, the picture below illustrates the steps by which a severely calcified mitral valve is replaced with a bovine bioprosthesis (also known as a cow valve replacement). The 52-year old female patient was released from the hospital six days after surgery.

Mitral Valve Replacement With Bovine (Cow) Valve

Mitral Valve Replacement With Bovine Valve

I hope this helps Ted (and perhaps you) learn a little more about mitral stenosis and the process to remove and replace a diseased heart valve.

As they say... A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Keep on tickin!
Adam

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Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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