Current status of surgical treatment of systolic anterior motion of mitral valve

Systolic anterior motion of mitral valve(SAM) is a relatively uncommon complication, but it can result in severe left ventricular outflow tract(LVOT) obstruction and/or mitral regurgitation(MR), even can be life-threating. Echocardiography is still the first-line method of SAM diagnosis. Due to LVOT obstruction and MR reducing the long-term prognosis of patients with SAM, it is necessary to carry out surgical treatment for patients with SAM for whom conservative treatment are not effective. Then mitral valve repair(MVREP) is the first choice. Besides, surgical techniques for treatment and prevention of SAM have made great progress which have promoted the popularization of MVREP, and the rate of MVREP in mitral valve operation has been greatly improved.