Which finding is related to significant MR?

Which finding is related to significant MR?

• A. Pulmonary Hypertension
• B. Left Bundle Branch Block
• C. Aortic Root Dilation
• D. Pericardial Effusion

Answer: (A)

Significant mitral regurgitation creates a systolic leak that sends blood from the left ventricle back into the left atrium, causing volume and pressure overload there. The elevated left atrial pressure is then transmitted back into the pulmonary veins and capillaries, raising pulmonary vascular pressures and leading to pulmonary hypertension. This downstream effect is why pulmonary hypertension is linked to significant MR. The other options aren’t direct consequences of MR: left bundle branch block is a conduction issue, not a typical result of MR; aortic root dilation involves the aorta, not the mitral valve; and pericardial effusion is fluid around the heart, unrelated to MR’s regurgitant mechanism.

Significant mitral regurgitation creates a systolic leak that sends blood from the left ventricle back into the left atrium, causing volume and pressure overload there. The elevated left atrial pressure is then transmitted back into the pulmonary veins and capillaries, raising pulmonary vascular pressures and leading to pulmonary hypertension. This downstream effect is why pulmonary hypertension is linked to significant MR.

The other options aren’t direct consequences of MR: left bundle branch block is a conduction issue, not a typical result of MR; aortic root dilation involves the aorta, not the mitral valve; and pericardial effusion is fluid around the heart, unrelated to MR’s regurgitant mechanism.