Exercise Doppler Echocardiography as an Aid to Clinical Decision Making in Mitral Valve Disease

The timing of valve replacement in patients with mitral valve disease, severe resting pulmonary hypertension, and severe symptoms is usually straightforward. However, this may not be true for patients with mild to moderate resting pulmonary pressures and symptoms that are difficult to evaluate. The measurement of hemodynamic parameters with exercise has been useful during cardiac catheterization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hemodynamic significance of dyspnea provoked by exercise in patients with mitral valve disease using exercise Doppler echocardiography. Nineteen tests were done in 17 patients (two patients had repeat studies 1 year after the first test). Dyspnea developed in patients during exercise in 11 tests, and the others were limited by fatigue (and angina in one patient). There was a significantly greater increment in pulmonary artery systolic pressure during exercise in the patients who developed dyspnea (24 mm Hg) than in those who did not (15 mm Hg, p = 0.04). The two groups exercised to approximately the same heart rate and blood pressure, but the dyspneic patients had a significantly shorter exercise capacity (p = 0.04). Furthermore, clinical decision making was affected by the test results in 84% (only three tests did not affect patient management) and included a decision to proceed to invasive testing and surgery in seven patients, and a decision to treat the patient medically in nine. In conclusion, exercise Doppler echocardiography is a useful adjunct in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with mitral valve disease and an aid to clinical decision making.