title: Color flow signal in the left atrium as a mirror image artifact suggesting one leaflet constriction of the St. Jude Medical valve: a case report.
abstract: Color Doppler echocardiography detected an abnormal color flow signal originating from the prosthetic mitral valve and extending to the left atrium during diastole in an 84-year-old woman with St. Jude Medical valve replacement. The flow was away from the transducer and almost identical to the left ventricular inflow signal except for the direction. Cinefluoroscopy showed one of the leaflets fixed at systole whereas the other leaflet was mobile. After reinforcement of anticoagulant therapy, this abnormal color flow signal disappeared and motion of both leaflets normalized. This color flow signal, presumably a mirror image artifact of the left ventricular inflow caused by the immobilized leaflet, could be a sign of one leaflet constriction in patients with St. Jude Medical valve replacement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Tenri Hospital, Nara.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iga
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Izumi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Konishi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016477:Artifacts; D018618:Echocardiography, Doppler, Color; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008943:Mitral Valve; D011475:Prosthesis Failure