mitral valve stenosis, an obstructive lesion in the mitral valve caused by adhesions on the leaflets of the valve, usually the result of recurrent episodes of rheumatic endocarditis or age-related calcification of the valve leaflets. Hypertrophy of the left atrium develops and may be followed by right-sided heart failure and pulmonary edema. Reduced cardiac output characteristically produces fatigue, dyspnea, orthopnea, and cyanosis. Surgical correction of the defective valve may be necessary. The valve may be freed of the adhesions in a mitral commissurotomy, or it may be replaced by a prosthetic valve. See also atrioventricular (AV) valve, valvular heart disease, valvular stenosis.
