RETROGRADE LEFT VENTRICULAR CARDIOANGIOGRAPHY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF MITRAL REGURGITATION

Abstract
A technique of left ventricular cardioangiography by arterial catheterization is described. Thirty patients who were thought to have mitral regurgitation have been investigated by this method, the procedure being accomplished successfully in 24. The presence of mitral regurgitation could be detected readily and its degree judged from the opacification of the left atrium. The findings on clinical examination and right heart catheterization did not provide an accurate basis for judging the severity of mitral regurgitation. The reliability of the assessment by cardioangiography has been confirmed in 12 patients who have subsequently undergone mitral valve operations.