Relief of Acute Mitral Regurgitation due to Unstable Angina by Coronary Angioplasty

A 63-year-old woman was admitted with unstable angina pectoris and acute mitral regurgitation accompanying the ischemic attack. Despite intensive medical treatment chest pain could not be relieved. Urgent PTCA was done to the culprit lesion in the left circumflex artery. Immediately after PTCA chest pain and acoustic, echocardiographic and angiographic evidence of mitral regurgitation disappeared. PTCA to the culprit lesion in ischemic mitral regurgitation may be life saving because long-lasting ischemia to the papillary muscle may cause rupture.