Disability and Circulatory Changes in Mitral Stenosis

stenosis miaht exist, and to assign the selected patients to one of four groups according to the degree of their disability. The number of patients had to be large in order to take into account the individual variations to be expected in any group of patients. Statistical analysis of the findings ascertained which measurements showed the more significant differences between the groups of patients. MATERIAL Since 1948 more than a thousand patients with rheumatic heart disease have been referred to this hospital for mitral valvotomy, and cardiac catheterization has been carried out on more than 200 of these as an aid to determining their suitability for operation. In only 81 of these did we consider that mitral stenosis was the sole cause of their disability, though sometimes it was accompanied by atrial fibrillation.