Foreword

Article Outline

• Copyright

In valvular heart disease, large volume specialized centers provide data from a large or huge number of patients, which is extremely valuable. However, a potential disadvantage is that these are data from referral centers, and thus, tend to be selected and are not representative of the total population of those with that disorder. Occasionally, one also obtains data about adverse outcomes that are also not representative. For example, this happened in the past with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

A survey of the “entire” population from many centers spread out over a continent or a huge country is very valuable. The Euro Heart Survey on Valvular Heart Disease is just such a survey. In this issue of Current Problems in Cardiology, Dr. Iung and coauthors present in a single article the findings of the European Experience with Valvular Heart Disease. It is comprehensive, detailed, and a valuable source of this excellent study.

The Editors are grateful to all the coauthors and their coinvestigators for this very useful database. The Editors are also grateful to Drs. Kanu Chatterjee^⁎ and Catherine Otto^† for their inclusive comments.

• ⁎ Kanu Chatterjee, MB, FRCP, MACP, is Ernest Gallo Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Chatterjee Center for Cardiac Research, San Francisco, CA.
• † Catherine Otto, MD, is Professor of Medicine, Director of Cardiology Fellowship Programs, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.