Accessory mitral valve is a rare congenital abnormality and an unusual cause of subvalvular obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract. Accessory mitral valves are usually detected in children due to symptomatic obstruction; isolated nonobstructive accessory mitral valve is rarely seen in adults. We describe the echocardiographic diagnosis of accessory mitral valve as an isolated congeni...

were performed to induce or increase the functional outflow tract obstruction; 150 pug/kg of propranolol was administered intravenously, and the stimulating maneuvers were repeated. Outflow obstruction was latent (present only with stimulation) in four patients, labile (present intermittently at rest) in five patients, and persistent and severe in two patients. Propranolol abolished or signific...

The clinical and haemodynamic significance of the subaortic pressure gradient in patients with muscular (hypertrophic) subaortic stenosis (hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy) has long been debated. In this report we summarize the evidence which indicates that true obstruction to left ventricular outflow exists in these patients. Rapid left ventricular ejection, through an outflow tract nar...

Background. The morphological determinants of mitral valve systolic anterior motion (SAM) and obstruction to left ventricular outflow in patients within the broad clinical spectrum of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are not completely understood, particularl the contribution of mitral leaflet length and size. Methods and Results. To clarify this issue, mitral valve specimens from 43 patients ...

Background. The morphological determinants of mitral valve systolic anterior motion (SAM) and obstruction to left ventricular outflow in patients within the broad clinical spectrum of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are not completely understood, particularl the contribution of mitral leaflet length and size. Methods and Results. To clarify this issue, mitral valve specimens from 43 patients ...

Infective endocarditis is a rare complication of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It's estimated incidence is 1.4 per 1000 person/year in all patients and it increases to 3.8 per 1000 person/year in patients with left ventricular outflow obstruction. The most common site of vegetation is the ventricular aspect of anterior mitral valve leaflet. We report a case of a 43-year-old man who was admitted ...

We report an unusual case of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction caused by accessory mitral valve tissue. This case illustrates the importance of transthoracic echocardiography in preoperative evaluation and the usefulness of transesophageal echocardiography for intraoperative assessment. If the accessory mitral valve has no functional significance it may be surgically excised, thereby r...

BACKGROUND Stenting of the systemic ventricular outflow tract and creation or enlargement of a ventricular septal defect using stents are potential therapeutic options in rare patients with congenital heart disease who develop significant ventricular hypertension due to outflow obstruction. These stents may be at increased risk of fracture because of exposure to cyclic compressive stresses. The...

OBJECTIVES Biventricular obstruction in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is uncommon, and some clinicians believe that, when symptoms are refractory to medical treatment, this severe form of HCM is best treated by transplantation. We describe our conventional surgical approach and outcomes to treat biventricular obstruction in HCM. METHODS From 1993 to 2013, we treated 11 symptomatic patient...