Aaah. Patel et al., Pulmonary stenosis and severe biventricular dysfunction: Improvement following percutaneous valvuloplasty, J HEART V D, 8(3), 1999, pp. 307-311
A 15-year-old boy with severe pulmonary stenosis associated with severe rig
ht and left ventricular systolic dysfunction is reported. After successful
percutaneous pulmonary valvuloplasty, there was an initial and early improv
ement in right ventricular (RV) function, followed by a delayed and more gr
adual improvement in left ventricular (LV) function. At long-term follow up
, both RV and LV systolic functions were nearly normalized. Several mechani
sms may be implicated, including ventricular interdependence, geometric fac
tors, altered compliance and intrinsic alteration in the LV muscle. A delay
ed, but sustained, improvement in LV systolic function following relief of
RV pressure overload suggests that the latter mechanism must have played an
important role in the genesis of the LV dysfunction. Pulmonary stenosis as
sociated with severe biventricular dysfunction may be treated primarily by
percutaneous pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty with near-total recovery of th
e ventricular function.