[False chordae tendineae: incidence and clinical meaning]

The presence of false tendons (FT) was sought with M-mode and 2-D echocardiography in a consecutive series of 316 patients with a wide age range (13-73 yrs). FT were observed in 13 patients (4.1%), all of them in the left ventricular cavity. Their clinical significance is pointed out together with the possibility of diagnostic error with other pathological formations, particularly intracavitary thrombi.