Foreword

Article Outline

• Copyright

The mitral valve is a complex structure. It needs 6 anatomical elements to work in a coordinated manner to maintain functional competence. Any dysfunction of any of these elements may result in mitral regurgitation (MR). Furthermore, issues such as atrioventricular block(s) may cause dysfunction of the mitral valve and MR. Thus it is not surprising that MR may result from a wide number of etiologic factors.

Currently MR is of great interest from both the mechanistic viewpoint and also the timing of surgery as well as the surgical procedures that are done to correct it.

Drs. Dell'Italia and O'Rourke have done considerable research and have a vast amount of clinical experience with patients with MR. In this issue, they and their colleagues present an exhaustive, scholarly, and up to-date review of the etiology, mechanisms, pathophysiology, role of diagnostic and imaging procedures, natural history, timing of surgery, and patients outcomes; it has 191 reference citations.

The Editorial Board and I are grateful to them for this excellent contribution.