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(Circulation. 1968;38:672.)
© 1968 American Heart Association, Inc.

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Acute Myocardial Infarction Secondary to Thromboembolism from a Fractured Prosthetic Aortic Valve

FREDARICK L. GOBEL M.D.¹; HENRY M. HAWKINS M.D.¹; RUSSELL HANSON M.D.¹; YANG WANG M.D.¹

¹ From the Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

A case of coronary artery embolism from thrombus in a fracture in an aortic Starr-Edwards prosthesis was documented at necropsy. This 40-year-old white man had replacement of the aortic and mitral valves by ball-valve prostheses 5 years prior to his death. Following surgery, he was able to return to full-time work. He did not return for follow-up for 2 years, and when next seen he had an acute myocardial infarction and left ventricular failure. An embolus to the left anterior descending coronary artery was demonstrated at the postmortem examination. The mitral ball was intact, but the aortic ball had two large fractures which contained thrombi.

Key Words: Ball-valve prostheses • Coronary artery emboli • Ball valve variance