Ventricular fibrillation in acute mitral valve insufficiency caused by chordae tendineae rupture: report of a surgically corrected case

In this report, we present the case of a previously healthy 80-year-old woman who was referred to surgery after a cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation successfully resuscitated; the following evaluation revealed acute mitral regurgitation due to chordae tendineae rupture. After mitral valve repair, a single-chamber cardioverter-defibrillator was implanted for secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death. After 16 months of follow-up, the patient is asymptomatic without any further episodes of ventricular arrhythmias reported, underlying the pivotal role of mitral valve repair in the prevention of potentially lethal ventricular arrhythmias. J Cardiovasc Med 10:261-263 (C) 2009 Italian Federation of Cardiology.