Key result
Mitral valve surgery improved exercise capacity and spirometric volumes at six months, though exercise-induced ST depression and ventricular ectopy remained common.
Why the study?
Does mitral valve surgery improve static lung function and exercise performance in patients requiring the surgery?
Observational (n=50)
Does mitral valve surgery improve static lung function and exercise performance in patients requiring the surgery?
Mitral valve surgery leads to small improvements in static lung volumes and significant improvements in exercise capacity at six months post-operation.
May support mitral valve surgery for exercise gains in observational data; leaves open confirmation via randomized trials.
Lung function at rest was assessed in 50 patients before and six months after mitral valve surgery. There were small increases in spirometric volumes (FEV1 and vital capacity) with decreases in total lung capacity and residual volume, but no change in carbon monoxide transfer factor or transfer coefficient (KCO). Progressive exercise tests performed before and after operation in 19 of the patients confirmed an improved exercise capacity after surgery. The patients with the greatest symptomatic improvement in breathlessness were also those who achieved the greatest increase in maximum work load and the greatest decrease in ventilation for a given oxygen consumption. Depression of the ST segment of the electrocardiogram and frequent ventricular ectopic beats on exercise remained common after surgery and may have been due to digoxin treatment.
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Rhodes et al. (1985) conducted an observational in Mitral valve disease (n=50). Mitral valve surgery vs. Pre-operative state was evaluated on Lung function at rest and exercise capacity. Mitral valve surgery improved exercise capacity and spirometric volumes at six months, though exercise-induced ST depression and ventricular ectopy remained common.
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