In mitral stenosis, which chamber is the first affected as the disease progresses?

In mitral stenosis, which chamber is the first affected as the disease progresses?

• A. Right Atrium
• B. Left Ventricle
• C. Left Atrium
• D. Right Ventricle

Answer: (C)

Mitral stenosis creates an obstruction between the left atrium and the left ventricle. Because blood can’t move easily from the LA into the LV during diastole, the left atrium has to generate higher pressures to push blood forward. This pressure load makes the left atrium dilate and stiffen—it's the first chamber to suffer. The elevated LA pressure is then transmitted backward into the pulmonary veins, causing pulmonary venous congestion and eventually pulmonary hypertension, which then strains the right heart. The left ventricle is relatively spared early because its systolic function remains preserved; the LV mainly experiences reduced filling rather than primary pathology. So, the left atrium is the first chamber affected as mitral stenosis progresses.

Mitral stenosis creates an obstruction between the left atrium and the left ventricle. Because blood can’t move easily from the LA into the LV during diastole, the left atrium has to generate higher pressures to push blood forward. This pressure load makes the left atrium dilate and stiffen—it's the first chamber to suffer. The elevated LA pressure is then transmitted backward into the pulmonary veins, causing pulmonary venous congestion and eventually pulmonary hypertension, which then strains the right heart. The left ventricle is relatively spared early because its systolic function remains preserved; the LV mainly experiences reduced filling rather than primary pathology. So, the left atrium is the first chamber affected as mitral stenosis progresses.