PULMONARY FUNCTION IN MITRAL VALVULAR DISEASE: DISTRIBUTION AND DIFFUSION CHARACTERISTICS IN RESTING PATIENTS 1

Abstract

29 patients with mitral valvular disease were studied by methods designed to explore pulmonary ventilation, circulation, distribution and diffusion. Dyspnea was the clinical feature best correlated with physiological abnormalities. Impairment of distribution seemed related to the presence of at least minimal pulmonary edema; impairment of diffusion was related to capillary changes of a structural or functional nature, acting singly or in combination. The fact that abnormalities of distribution and diffusion often appeared independently suggested that the sequence of events in the development of altered pulmonary function in patients with mitral stenosis might vary from patient to patient. When the disease was far advanced, there were abnormalities in all aspects of pulmonary function which were studied.