Chordae Tendineae Fusion in Severe Aortic Valve Sclerosis: An Autoptic Report

The risk for cardiac death in aortic sclerosis (AS) is related to the development of aortic stenosis because it can result also in significant mitral regurgitation (MR). The MR in AS is associated with a larger left ventricular size and lesser wall thickness. In this manuscript we describe an autoptic outcome of cardiac death by severe aortic valve sclerosis in ventricular hypertrophy. This case enables us to observe no-rupture, but chordae tendineae fusion, in a phase immediately prior to rupture of the chordae tendineae, when the degeneration is severe and their function is totally useless.