Traumatic rupture of Ionescu-Shiley aortic valve after the Heimlich maneuver

A 74-year-old woman who had undergone aortic valve replacement with an Ionescu-Shiley bioprosthesis was evaluated and treated because aortic insufficiency developed after the application of the Heimlich maneuver. Pathologic examination of the explanted valve disclosed a cuspid perforation and an adjacent tear of a second cusp at its insertion into the valve strut. Patients with unexplained acute prosthetic insufficiency should be questioned as to whether the Heimlich maneuver has been previously performed.