title: Echocardiographic changes after aortic valve replacement: Does the failure rate of mitral valve change?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since some degrees of functional mitral regurgitation (MR) may be seen in patients who are candidate for undergoing isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR), determining the effectiveness of AVR surgery on MR rate improvement can be effective in designing a protocol to deal with patients with functional MR. The purpose of this study was to examine the echocardiographic changes after AVR surgery with a focus on changes in MR.
  
  
  METHODS
  The research was conducted as a before-after observational study on patients hospitalized in Baqiyatallah Hospital, Tehran, Iran, who were undergone AVR surgery between 2011 and 2012. After selecting the patients and obtaining informed consent to participate in the project, transthoracic echocardiographic data were collected by a specialist in Cardiology Echocardiography using ViVid 7 device before and till one week after AVR surgery. The MR rate was measured using methods; including Color Flow Doppler, PISA, Vena Cava Width and Effective Regurgitant Orifice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Finally, the study was conducted on 85 patients (mean age = 56.23 ± 6.10 years, 27 women = 31.8%). Of 21 patients with preoperative MR more than mild (moderate, mild to moderate), 20 patients (95%) showed at least one degree decrease in MR. Among 64 patients who had mild MR before the surgery, 29 patients improved (45%), that this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study results showed that in patients with preoperative MR degree higher than mild, after AVR the MR rate improved 24 times more than those who had preoperative MR degree equivalent to mild and lower. However, these changes are not affected by other echocardiographic changes and patients demographic characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Arezoo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khosravi
authors.affiliation: Cardiologist, Department of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sheykhloo
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karbasi-Afshar
authors.affiliation: Birjand Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand AND Chemical Injuries Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Amin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saburi
keywords: Echocardiography; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; Mitral Valve Regurgitation