3D Echocardiography in Mitral Valve Heart Disease – Is It the New Gold Standard?

Although cardiac structures exist in three dimensions, 2D echocardiography only provides information in a single tomographic plane, the orientation of which is determined by the ultrasound window. Accordingly, the use of geometrical assumptions and mental integration of information from multiple 2D images are needed to assess cardiac structures such as the mitral valve. Advances in ultrasound technology, improvements in terms of realtime 3D imaging and the development of 3D transoesophageal echocardiography probes have opened up further applications, such as pre-operative planning of mitral valve repair and intraoperative guidance of percutaneous valve interventions. This article aims to provide an overview of the applications of 3D echocardiography in the assessment and treatment of mitral valve disease in adults in current clinical practice.