[Dynamic left intraventricular obstruction in acute myocardial ischemia]

A case of a 60-year-old woman suffering from hypertension, who presented an episode of acute myocardial ischemia with an elevation of the ST segment in the anterior ECG lead, is reported. On examination, a transient loud systolic murmur was present; it completely disappeared soon after the cessation of acute myocardial ischemia. Doppler echocardiography was performed a few times, during and after the acute ischemia: it was able to show a sort of "hour-glass" deformation of the left ventricle due to the akinesia of the anterior and apical segments. This functional anatomic deformation hampers the outflow from the left ventricle thus creating a dynamic left intraventricular gradient, which is clearly shown by pulsed wave and continuous Doppler echocardiography.