Microbubbles Mimicking Prosthetic Mitral Valve Thrombosis

A 36-year-old woman with a history of redo mitral valve replacement (bileaflet mechanical mitral valve prosthesis) in 2002 for prosthetic mitral valve endocarditis presented to the emergency department with a history of recurrent palpitations. A transthoracic echocardiogram was performed and falsely indicated a diagnosis of prosthetic mitral valve thrombosis. However, review of the echocardiogram by an experienced echocardiologist revised the diagnosis to microbubbles formation phenomenon with mechanical mitral prosthesis. Frame-by-frame analysis or reducing the frame rate of the recorded echocardiographic loop is vital to demonstrate the growing or dissipation of microbubbles and hence to avoid inadvertent thrombolytic therapy or surgical intervention.