Valvular heart disease remains a major problem worldwide and is responsible for 20 000 deaths each year in the United States, with an estimated 99 000 inpatient valve procedures performed annually.1 The mitral and tricuspid valve complexes comprise the valve leaflets, valvular annulus, papillary muscles, and chordae tendineae, which anchor the leaflets to the papillary muscles. As papillary mus...

We present a case of an individual who presented with acute severe mitral regurgitation in the setting of an inferior ST elevation myocardial infarction. Both transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography demonstrated a posteriorly directed eccentric jet of severe mitral regurgitation with flail anterior mitral valve leaflet attached presumably to the anterior papillary muscle. Intraoperat...

A n 86-year-old woman without any history of heart disease or trauma to the chest experienced an acute onset of dyspnea associated with a productive cough for 2 hours. Her medical history revealed that she was hypertensive for the past 20 years. Her blood pressure was 90 mm Hg in systole and 50 mm Hg in diastole. Immediately after admission, mechanical ventilation was initiated because there wa...

We report a case of acute mitral insufficiency due to anterolateral papillary muscle rupture secondary to chest trauma. In our case, mitral valve repair was performed as an alternative to valve replacement, with good results during the immediate postoperative period and follow-up. The patient was a 41-year-old man with nothing remarkable in his medical history. He presented with high-energy fro...

We describe the case of a 59-year-old man who presented with chest pain and ST-segment elevation in the inferior leads, R>S in V1 and ST depression in the anterior leads due to proximal occlusion of the first obtuse marginal. Primary coronary angioplasty and stenting of this artery were performed. Twelve hours later the patient became hemodynamically unstable and severe mitral regurgitation due...