Mitral stenosis with posterior diastolic movement of posterior leaflet.

The echocardiographic diagnosis of mitral stenosis depends in part on the demonstration of abnormal posterior leaflet movement to distinguish it from other conditions that similarly affect anterior leaflet motion. In mitral stenosis the posterior leaflet has been shown to move anteriorly in diastole rather than in the normal posterior direction. A patient presented with clinical evidence of moderate mitral stenosis. The anterior leaflet echo was typical but the posterior leaflet showed posterior diastolic movement. At catheterization moderate mitral stenosis was confirmed. To our knowledge this is the first report of the echocardiographic demonstration of posterior diastolic movement of the posterior mitral leaflet in documented mitral stenosis.