Background: We analyzed the immediate and long-term outcome of percutaneous balloon mitral valvotomy (PMV) in 99 patients who were greater than or equal to 65 years of age (81 women and 18 men; mean +/- SEM age, 72 +/- 0.5 years).
Methods and results: There were 84 patients in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV; 26 patients had previous surgical commissurotomy; 64 had one or more comorbidities; 73 had fluoroscopically visible mitral valve (MV) calcification; and 63 had echocardiographic score greater than 8 (mean +/- SEM score, 9.2 +/- 0.2). There were three procedural deaths, all occurring in our early experience. Pericardial tamponade occurred in five patients, thromboembolism in three, and transient atrioventricular block in one. After PMV, MV area was greater than or equal to 1 cm2 in 86 patients and greater than or equal to 1.5 cm2 in 56. A successful outcome (defined as MV area greater than or equal to 1.5 cm2 without a greater than or equal to 2-grade increase in mitral regurgitation and without left-to-right shunt with a pulmonary-to-systemic flow ratio of greater than or equal to 1.5:1) was achieved in 46 patients. The best multivariate predictor of success was the combination of echocardiographic score, NYHA functional class, and inverse of MV area. Mean follow-up was 16 +/- 1 months. Actuarial survival (79 +/- 7% versus 62 +/- 10%, p = 0.04), survival without MV replacement (71 +/- 8% versus 41 +/- 8%, p = 0.002), and survival without MV replacement and NYHA class III or IV (54 +/- 12% versus 38 +/- 8%, p = 0.01) at 3 years were significantly better in the successful group of 46 patients than in the unsuccessful group of 53 patients. Low echocardiographic score was the only independent predictor of survival. Lack of MV calcification and low NYHA class, low mean left atrial pressure, and low pulmonary artery pressure were the independent predictors of event-free survival.
Conclusions: PMV can be performed safely in selected patients greater than or equal to 65 years old with good immediate and long-term results. In addition to clinical examination, echocardiographic evaluation of the mitral valve and fluoroscopic screening for valvular calcification are the most important steps in patient selection for successful outcome.