[Usefulness of high resolution transesophageal echocardiography for diagnosis of ruptured chordae tendineae of the mitral valve: clinical and echocardiographic characteristics].

Transesophageal echocardiography with high resolution (TEE; 5 MHz, convex type probe) revealed ruptured chordae tendinae of the mitral valve (RCT) in seven patients. However transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was diagnostic only in two patients. These all seven patients had mitral valve prolapse and mitral regurgitation documentated by TTE. Six of seven patients were 59 years or older, and four patients had only mild symptoms. TEE showed the systolic appearance of an edge echo, suggesting an edge of ruptured chordae tendineae within the left atrium. These results show that TEE is a useful method for detecting RCT of the mitral valve, especially in the aged patients with MVP and mitral regurgitation. It is because of the availability of high resolution and nearfield in TEE.