title: Aortic valve tethering: embryonic remnant of a common origin?
abstract: A 14-year-old asymptomatic girl without relevant medical history was referred to our department for heart murmur evaluation. The echocardiogram showed cardiac chambers with normal size and function. Noteworthy was the presence of an apparently fibrous tissue joining the ventricular surfaces of the aortic non-coronary and right coronary leaflets with the anterior mitral leaflet. Both valves were slightly thickened and there was a mild anterior mitral valve 'billowing' causing an eccentric mild-to-moderate regurgitant jet. During systole, tethering of this tissue caused the incomplete opening of both mentioned aortic leaflets, causing a turbulent flow with no significant gradient across the valve. During diastole, moderate eccentric aortic regurgitation jet was noted, probably related to incomplete coaptation at the insertion point of this anomalous tissue. We speculate that this finding may represent the remnant of some tissue during heart development that abnormally persisted in this young lady.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. luisalvaco@gmail.com
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alvarez-Acosta
authors.forename: Estanislao
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Soriano-Vela
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Facenda-Lorenzo
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farrais-Villalba
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D005260:Female; D006337:Heart Murmurs / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006351:Heart Valves / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000196:embryology*; D006801:Humans; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014463:Ultrasonography