Is insufficient leaflet remodeling (small total leaflet area/annulus area ratio) associated with the severity of mitral regurgitation in patients with atrial fibrillation?
In patients with atrial fibrillation, the severity of mitral regurgitation is driven more by insufficient leaflet remodeling relative to annular dilatation than by annular dilatation alone.
BACKGROUND: The relationship between annular dilatation caused by atrial fibrillation (AF) and mitral regurgitation (MR) remains controversial. We hypothesized that the small ratio of total leaflet area/annulus area (TLA/AA), reflecting insufficient leaflet remodeling to annular dilatation, is a main component of MR in patients with AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: =0.26). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with AF, insufficient leaflet remodeling to annular dilatation, rather than crude annular dilatation, was strongly associated with the severity of MR.
Kagiyama et al. (Wed,) studied this question.