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.