title: Percutaneous balloon commissurotomy reduces incidence of ischemic cerebral stroke in patients with symptomatic rheumatic mitral stenosis.
abstract: Whether percutaneous balloon commissurotomy reduces cerebral stroke in patients with symptomatic rheumatic mitral stenosis remains obscure. This study enrolled 170 such patients undergoing either medical therapy alone (n=71) or balloon commissurotomy (n=99). In the short term, balloon commissurotomy was successfully accomplished in 99% patients without embolic complications. At follow-up (mean 4.2+/-3.2 years), patients undergoing commissurotomy encountered significantly rarer ischemic stroke than the medicine group (2% vs. 13%, p=0.043). Multivariate Cox regression analysis further confirmed balloon commissurotomy as a negative predictor for ischemic stroke (hazard ratio 0.135, p=0.011). These results lead to the conclusion that percutaneous balloon commissurotomy could substantially decrease the long-term incidence of ischemic cerebral stroke in eligible patients with symptomatic rheumatic mitral stenosis.
authors.forename: Tsun-Jui
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hui-Chun
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Wen-Lieng
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kuo-Yang
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hao-Ji
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Chih-Tai
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Ting
authors.forename: Hui-Chin
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lai
mesh_terms: D000800:Angioplasty, Balloon; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008946:Mitral Valve Stenosis / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D012214:Rheumatic Heart Disease / Q000150:complications; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*