Bioprosthetic mitral valve thrombosis. Importance of transesophageal echocardiography in the diagnosis and follow-up after treatment.

Objective: To report the clinical and echocardiographic findings of bioprosthetic mitral valve thrombosis and the value of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in its diagnosis and monitoring of thrombolysis.

Methods: One hundred and eleven patients with mitral bioprostheses underwent TEE, and 4 out of 7 suspected of having a thrombus on these prostheses were included in the study (mean age = 60.2+/-10.

Echocardiographic Features of Ventricular Septal Rupture with Right Ventricular Aneurysm After Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Postinfarction ventricular septal defect is a life-threatening disorder that may be adequately treated if the diagnosis is obtained promptly. Two-dimensional color Doppler echocardiography is a reliable tool for this diagnosis and gives additional information regarding its location, size, and shape. The authors emphasize the feasibility of this method to depict a particular form of postinfarction interventricular septal rupture, which developed an aneurysm inside the right ventricular cavity.