Conclusion
The present study shows that marked left atrial dysfunction is seen in severe rheumatic MS irrespective of NYHA functional class as suggested by severely reduced left atrial reservoir, conduit and contractile strain. LA function deteriorated further non-significantly with increasing severity of MS (decreasing mitral valve area), increase in left atrial size and increase in mean and peak transmitral gradient. Hence, our study results suggests that early and timely intervention in severe MS patients irrespective of NYHA functional class should be done as it may likely improve the LA function and avoid clinical deterioration. Further BMV may retard the development of AF and RV dysfunction. This hypothesis however requires further study.
Conflicts of Interest : All the authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with respect to the present submission.