January 28, 1960
View Full PaperCatheterization of the Left Side of the Heart
Structured PICO
Does catheterization of the left side of the heart improve the clinical assessment and characterization of valve lesions in adult patients with acquired heart disease?
P
Population
Adult patients with acquired heart disease, specifically lesions of the mitral and aortic valves, in whom usual clinical examinations and right-sided catheterization leave the diagnosis in doubt
I
Intervention
Catheterization of the left side of the heart
O
Outcome
Precise characterization of lesions of the mitral and aortic valve and clinical assessment
Left heart catheterization provides invaluable diagnostic information for characterizing mitral and aortic valve lesions when standard assessments are insufficient.
Abstract
CATHETERIZATION of the left side of the heart1 2 3 4 has made possible a variety of physiologic investigations5 6 7 8 of the heart and circulation. In addition, measurements of pressures in the left side of the heart have been found invaluable in the precise characterization of lesions of the mitral and of the aortic valve. Such studies have also facilitated the clinical assessment of adult patients with acquired heart disease in whom the results of the usual clinical examinations and right-sided catheterization leave the diagnosis in doubt. In the present report the usefulness of catheterization of the left side of the heart is demonstrated . . .