Congenital mitral disease: anomalous mitral arcade in a young man

Abstract

We present the case of a 33-year-old man referred to our institution with a diagnosis of severe mitral valvular stenosis and insufficiency. We realized the valvular disease was due to an "anomalous mitral arcade," a rare congenital malformation of the mitral tensor apparatus characterized by enlarged papillary muscles connected to mitral leaflets by a typical fibrous tissue bridge. This arrangement creates a fibrous continuity between valvular and subvalvular apparatus. The reported echocardiographic images shows in detail the anatomic and functional features of this rare condition.