Demographics and Clinical characteristics
A total of 121 consecutive patients, who underwent a TOE examination
were considered as candidates for this study. AutoMVQ analysis was
feasible in 110 out of 121 TTE examinations (91% feasibility) and in
117 out of 121 TOE examinations (96% feasibility). Eventually, 106
patients met the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the study, while
the rest 15 patients didn’t have adequate images for 3D modeling of the
MV and were not included in the study. The most common reasons for poor
TTE acquisition were lung disease, obesity, irregular rhythm and severe
mitral annular calcification. On the other hand, the most common reasons
for poor imaging in TOE were arrhythmias, stitching artifacts, low frame
rate and non-cooperative sedated patients. The baseline patient
characteristics and the clinical indications for TOE are depicted in
Table 2. The most common indication for TOE was MV pathology (47.1%),
followed by the need for left atrial appendage (LAA) evaluation before
AF cardioversion.
The majority of patients (92 patients, 86.8%), had normal LV function
(mean LV ejection fraction 56.8±9.7%). Some degree of LA dilatation was
present in 79 patients (74.5%), whereas 72 patients (67.9%) had normal
LV volumes. With respect to MV anatomy, 56 patients (52.8%) suffered
from MR or stenosis and 50 patients (47.2%) had normal MV anatomy and
served as control group. More specifically, 24 patients (22.6%)
suffered from primary MR, 16 patients (15.1%) suffered from functional
MR and 16 patients (15.1%) suffered from mitral stenosis.