IMR Press / RCM / Volume 25 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.31083/j.rcm2501029
Open Access Review
Non-Invasive Assessment of Multivalvular Heart Disease: A Comprehensive Review
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1 Department of Translational Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Eastern Piedmont, Maggiore della Carità Hospital, 28100 Novara, Italy
2 Department of Cardiology, Division of Heart and Lungs, Utrecht University Medical Center, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands
3 Department of Cardiology, Haga Teaching Hospital, 2545 AA The Hague, The Netherlands
*Correspondence: m.guglielmo@umcutrecht.nl (Marco Guglielmo)
Rev. Cardiovasc. Med. 2024, 25(1), 29; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.rcm2501029
Submitted: 29 July 2023 | Revised: 9 November 2023 | Accepted: 13 November 2023 | Published: 16 January 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Cardiovascular Imaging)
Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Multivalvular heart disease (MVD) implies the presence of concomitant valvular lesions on two or more heart valves. This condition has become common in the few last years, mostly due to population aging. Every combination of valvular lesions uniquely redefines the hemodynamics of a patient. Over time, this may lead to alterations in left ventricle (LV) dimensions, shape and, eventually, function. Since most of the echocardiographic parameters routinely used in the valvular assessment have been developed in the context of single valve disease and are frequently flow- and load-dependent, their indiscriminate use in the context of MVD can potentially lead to errors in judging lesion severity. Moreover, the combination of non-severe lesions may still cause severe hemodynamic consequences, and thereby systolic dysfunction. This review aims to discuss the most frequent combinations of MVD and their echocardiographic caveats, while addressing the opportunities for a multimodality assessment to achieve a better understanding and treatment of these patients.

Keywords
multivalvular heart disease
cardiovascular imaging
echocardiography
Figures
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