ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on the Management of Mitral Regurgitation: A Review of the 2017 Document for the Cardiac Anesthesiologist

Chronic mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most prevalent valvular lesion in the adult US population. Appropriate patient selection for mitral intervention and selection of the appropriate interventional strategy and optimal periprocedural management rely on thorough clinical evaluation, accurate echocardiographic input, and in-depth understanding of chronic MR pathophysiology on the part of the cardiac anesthesiologist. The recently published Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on the management of MR was designed to provide tools to help the clinician with broad clinical decision-making, including patient referral, and the present review focuses and elaborates on the key aspects relevant to the cardiac anesthesiologist in the peri-interventional setting.