Key result
Mitral annulus calcification with a mobile component was identified in 4 patients with embolic events and disappeared in 3 patients on follow-up, suggesting it as a possible direct cause of embolism.
Case Report (n=4)
A mobile component of mitral annulus calcification identified on transesophageal echocardiography may be a direct source of embolic events.
May flag mobile mitral annulus calcification on TEE as embolic source; hypothesis-generating case data, should not change practice.
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.
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Shohat‐Zabarski et al. (2001) conducted a case report in Mitral annulus calcification with embolic events (n=4). Mitral annulus calcification with a mobile component was evaluated on Disappearance of the mobile component on follow-up transesophageal echocardiography. Mitral annulus calcification with a mobile component was identified in 4 patients with embolic events and disappeared in 3 patients on follow-up, suggesting it as a possible direct cause of embolism.
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