As the mitral valvular apparatus tenses during systole, forces transmitted along the chordae tendineae to the left ventricular chamber may influence left ventricular performance. To test this hypothesis, 10 dogs anesthetized with fentanyl were studied during cardiopulmonary bypass. The importance of the mitral apparatus in left ventricular systolic function was assessed independent of load by m...

The mitral valve is one of the four valves of the human heart. Serving as a passive check valve, a healthy mitral valve permits the flow of oxygenated blood from the left atrium to the left ventricle while preventing backflow. This is accomplished via the mutual collision of the leaflets and the tethering forces of the chordae tendineae (Figure 1). When backflow occurs, the preferred method of ...

PURPOSE In this report we review our experience of operations on mitral regurgitation associated with abnormal papillary muscles/chordae tendineae of the mitral valves and discussed the clinical characteristics, operative findings, and treatment strategies. METHODS Undifferentiated papillary muscle was defined as a hypoplastic chordae tendineae with anomalous formation of papillary muscles at...

OBJECTIVE The papillary muscles and the chordae tendineae of both mitral leaflets contribute to the preservation of the left ventricular function. Most surgeons, however, routinely excise the anterior mitral leaflet. METHODS In a group of nine patients, six of them underwent mitral valve replacement alone and three underwent both aortic and mitral valve replacements, all the mitral apparatus ...

The causes of mitral valve insufficiency may largely be divided into two categories: organic or primary and functional or secondary. In the first case, the cause of insufficiency is due to a morphological change of the valve. Numerous diseases may damage the valve. Of the degenerative disease we may list myxomatous degeneration, fibroelastic deficiency or annular calcifications. Of the phlogist...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate pediatric atrioventricular valve repair with artificial chordae. METHODS Between February 2001 and January 2006, artificial chords were used in 21 children with severe mitral or tricuspid valve regurgitation. Patients with AVSD were excluded. Median age was 84 (1-194) months. Five patients had isolated tricuspid valve anomalies, 16 had mitral valve anomalies (associated ...

53-year-old man, who had undergone dental treatment 2 months prior, presented with a slight fever and generalized weakness for several weeks. He was examined carefully in a regional hospital. There was no elevation of inflammatory markers, and his blood culture was negative. Electrocardiogram showed atrial fibrillation. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) demonstrated a lar...

Fifty-three specimens in which the primary diagnosis in life was coaretation of the aorta were examined; only nine had a mitral valve of normal size and configuration. Ten specimens had a normally formed valve mechanism which was small in comparison to both tricuspid valve and left ventricle. Three other specimens had a normally formed but small valve which exhibited a short free margin of the ...

Fifty-three specimens in which the primary diagnosis in life was coaretation of the aorta were examined; only nine had a mitral valve of normal size and configuration. Ten specimens had a normally formed valve mechanism which was small in comparison to both tricuspid valve and left ventricle. Three other specimens had a normally formed but small valve which exhibited a short free margin of the ...

Mitral insufficiency with mitral annular calcification occurring predominantly in elderly females has been described. We studied six patients with mitral diastolic obstruction associated with mitral annular calcification without stenosis of the mitral leaflets. Three were males and three were females, aged 43-77 years. All had significant diastolic gradients across the mitral valve (mean gradie...