Regional pulmonary function in patients with mitral stenosis in relation to haemodynamic data.

Central haemodynamics in 23 patients with mitral stenosis and 7 control subjects were compared with the results of regional lung perfusion studied by (133)Xe, pulmonary scintigraphy with (99)mTc-labelled macro-aggregates of albumin, and regional ventilation by (133)Xe.A close correlation was found between both methods assessing regional pulmonary perfusion, i.e. pulmonary scintigraphy and (133)Xe. The results show that lower lung zones, when compared with upper zones, have both worse perfusion and worse ventilation. The changed distribution of perfusion and the changed distribution of ventilation correlated significantly with central haemodynamics in these patients. The ventilation gradient can be a valuable diagnostic tool for evaluating the severity of mitral stenosis, especially in long and repeated studies, due to its simplicity for the patient.