Mitral Valve Repair clinical trials

The Role of Left Atrial Fibrosis in Mitral Valve Repair Surgery (ALIVE Trial)

Rationale: Patients with mitral valve insufficiency suffer from left atrial remodeling. Atrial fibrosis is part of this remodeling process. The presence of atrial fibrosis is associated with adverse events. Currently, mitral valve repair surgery is the ultimate treatment for severe primary mitral valve insufficiency. The main indications and timing for surgery are severe mitral valve insufficiency with symptoms or left ventricular dysfunction. However, the role of atrial fibrosis in this process remains undetermined despite its well-recognized clinical implications. Characterization of atrial fibrosis patterns in mitral valve insufficiency patients might be potentially valuable for the indication and timing of mitral valve repair surgery in order to improve clinical outcomes. To date, however, mitral valve insufficiency patients suffering from left atrial remodeling have hardly been studied using these new imaging techniques. Therefore, the investigators intend to combine advanced cardiac MRI and post-processing techniques prior to and after mitral valve repair surgery to gain more insight in the clinical implications of atrial fibrosis in this patient population. It is hypothesized that the atrial fibrosis surface area paradoxically will increase after mitral valve surgery because of global shrinkage of the left atrium caused by the reversed remodeling process. As a consequence, more frequently atrial fibrosis related events including (paroxysmal) atrial fibrillation, may be observed in these patients. Objective: To assess the effects of (reduced) volume overload on the left atrial wall texture (presence, amount and location of atrial fibrosis) and associated geometry and function in patients with mitral valve insufficiency, prior to and after mitral valve repair surgery. Study design: Single center pilot study. Study population: The research population consists of mitral valve insufficiency patients scheduled for elective surgical mitral valve repair (N=20) according to the current European guideline criteria.