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Editorial
Improving the imaging diagnosis of mitral annular disjunction
  1. Kristina Haugaa1,2
  1. 1 Department of Cardiology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
  2. 2 Institute for Clincial Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
  1. Correspondence to Dr Kristina Haugaa, Department of Cardiology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo 0042, Norway; kristina.haugaa{at}medisin.uio.no

https://doi.org/10.1136/heartjnl-2020-317667

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    Mitral annular disjunction (MAD) was described 30 years ago, originally by Bharati et al, reporting the sudden cardiac death of a 45-year-old man with a history of palpitations and with mitral valve prolapse (MVP).1 MAD is defined as the atrial displacement of the hinge point of the mitral valve from the ventricular myocardium. Later studies have linked the disjunctive mitral annulus with MVP,2–4 suggesting MAD as a structural abnormality in the mitral annulus associated with MVP.

    Although there is debate whether MAD is an actual anatomical and clinical entity, the clinical interest in this anatomical abnormality has been revitalised recently linking MAD with ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.5 Similar to the first patient described, patients with MVP and MAD often present in their 30s–40s with palpitations, which are due to frequent multifocal premature contractions5 (figure 1). In some individuals, arrhythmias are even more severe and may result in cardiac arrest. The increased recognition of MAD in patients with ventricular arrhythmias has helped explaining the possible cause of aborted cardiac arrest and frequent premature …

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter @KristinaHaugaa

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting, or dissemination plans of this research.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

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