title: Mitral annulus calcification with a mobile component as a possible source of embolism.
abstract: Mitral annulus calcification has been associated with embolic events, but the precise pathophysiology has not been elucidated. The authors describe four patients who experienced embolic events whose transesophageal echocardiograms showed a mitral annulus calcification, with a mobile component that exhibited the same echogenicity as the calcification. Three patients had no other conditions known to be associated with embolism. On follow-up transesophageal echocardiography, the mobile component of the mitral annulus calcification had disappeared in three patients. These findings support the hypothesis that mitral annulus calcification not only is associated with but also is possibly a direct cause of embolic events in some patients.
authors.affiliation: Sheingarten Echocardiography Unit, Department of Cardiology, Rabin Medical Center, Beilinson Campus, Petah-Tiqva; Sacler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shohat-Zabarski
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paz
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Adler
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vaturi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jortner
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sagie
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000150:complications*; D004452:Echocardiography; D004617:Embolism / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors