Rupture of a papillary muscle of the tricuspid valve in primary pulmonary hypertension.

Rupture of a papillary muscle of the tricuspid valve is a rare occurrence, and nontraumatic rupture is still rarer. We describe a 26-year-old male with primary pulmonary hypertension presenting with severe dyspnea and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea following spontaneous rupture of the septal papillary muscle of the tricuspid valve. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed at autopsy.