Incremental value of three-dimensional echocardiography in the evaluation of left ventricular size in mitral regurgitation: A follow-up study after mitral valve surgery

Background: Increased left ventricular (LV) dimensions are an indication for surgery in patients with asymptomatic mitral regurgitation, but M-mode or two-dimensional measurements have known limitations. The aim of this study was to determine the value of three-dimensional echocardiography in predicting postoperative outcomes after mitral surgery.

Methods: Sixty-seven patients with severe asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic mitral regurgitation (69% men; mean age, 62 ± 13 years) who underwent mitral valve surgery from January 2010 to December 2011 were studied. In addition to standard echocardiography, baseline three-dimensional echocardiography was performed for accurate quantification of LV size. Patients were followed over a median time of 1 month (interquartile range, 0-8 months) for postoperative development of atrial fibrillation or LV dysfunction. A multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify associations with events.

Results: Postoperative LV dysfunction developed in 15 patients (22%), and 21 patients (31%) had postoperative atrial fibrillation. There was no association between two-dimensional end-systolic volume index and outcomes (hazard ratio, 1.02; P = .18). Postoperative atrial fibrillation or LV dysfunction was associated with baseline three-dimensional LV end-systolic volume index (hazard ratio, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.16), independent of age and presence of coronary artery disease. LVESVi ≥ 40 mL/m² was the best cutoff value to predict postoperative events (sensitivity, 80%; specificity, 85%). After adding LVESVi to a model containing clinical and echocardiographic parameters, net reclassification improvement was 0.27 (95% confidence interval, 0.25-0.29; P = .024).

Conclusions: LVESVi from three-dimensional echocardiography is an independent predictor of postoperative outcomes in patients with severe mitral regurgitation that is incremental to other clinical and echocardiographic variables.