In animal models, severing the chordae tendineae of the mitral valve reduces the maximum global left ventricular elastance (Emax,g), a load-independent measure of left ventricular systolic performance; moreover, chamber geometry is altered with systolic bulging in the region of the papillary muscle insertions. This suggests that forces transmitted by the mitral apparatus increase the regional v...

Rupture of chordae tendineae resulting in acute mitral regurgitation has previously been described following rheumatic fever, subacute bacterial endocarditis, blunt chest trauma, and in Marfan's syndrome. Chordae may rupture spontaneously in older patients, producing a characteristic clinical syndrome, but such 'idiopathic' rupture is exceptional before the age of 50. This paper reports the occ...

Myxomatous disease generally affects mitral valve. However, tricuspid valves also can be involved in 20% of the myxomatous mitral valve disease. Valve prolapse, elongation of chordae and chordae rupture are generally seen complications of the myxomatous disease. There are some reports about severe tricuspid regurgitation due to tricuspid valve prolapse and elongated chordae, but no tricuspid an...

Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis type VI) is a rare lysosomal storage disorder in which the pathologic storage of glycosaminoglycans in various tissues can lead to severe symptoms, including cardiomyopathy. We report on a child with Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome whose cardiac condition deteriorated and eventually led to cardiac failure at the age of 7 years due to severe mitral regurgit...

Cardiac injury after blunt trauma is common but underreported. Common cardiac trauma after the blunt chest injury (BCI) is cardiac contusion; it is very rare to have cardiac valve injury. The mitral valve injury during chest trauma occurs when extreme pressure is applied at early systole during the isovolumic contraction between the closure of the mitral valve and the opening of the aortic valv...

This review deals with the functional anatomy of the six components of the mitral apparatus, namely, the left atrial wall, annulus, leaflets, chordae tendineae, papillary muscles, and left ventricular wall. Each component is considered individually, in the context of the apparatus as a whole, in relation to the mode of closure of the normal mitral valve, and in the light of many acquired and co...

Repair of mitral valve (MV) leaflet prolapse using chordal replacement is an established procedure in open heart surgery for the treatment of mitral regurgitation (MR). The technique has proven high reproducibility and excellent longterm outcomes for posterior leaflet prolaspe, with freedom from valve-related reoperation of 95%.1,2 Striving toward a lessinvasive treatment for structural heart d...

Sixty-two consecutive surgically removed chronic rheumatic mitral valves were classified and tabulated according to their pathological features in relation to age and sex of the patients. The pathological features of the valves are quite different from the cases seen in Western hemisphere. Three types of gross pathological features are described. First is fibrous stenotic type which has very th...

To what extent is prolapse of the mitral valve associated with mitral regurgitation and the risk of infective endocarditis, rupture of the chordae tendineae, and sudden death? Earlier studies used differing definitions and criteria, and reported prevalence of this deformity varied widely, especially between referral and general population studies. Advances in echocardiography have clarified the...

To study the mechanism of altered mitral function in the presence of an isolated cleft mitral valve (ICMV) with regard to the relative roles of the cleft and of the accessory chordae, seven patients with ICMV were studied with color Doppler echocardiography. Mitral insufficiency ranging from mild to severe was demonstrated in six cases. The regurgitant jet originated in each case from the site ...