This week’s image was taken on a 13 year old girl presenting with new onset shortness of breath while walking up the stairs. These images demonstrate how movement of the mitral valve can be used to estimate function. Qualitatively, the mitral valve does not come close to the septal wall, which is shown in the first image. The E-point septal separation (EPSS), shown in the second image, is a quantitative assessment, measuring the distance between the mitral valve and the septal wall (generally accepted to be less than 0.7cm).

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