[Mitral insufficiency simulating aortic stenosis]

We report a patient with a mitral insufficiency due to myxomatous valve change, with a regurgitation murmur heard principally at aortic area and radiating to the neck base. Even though the topography of the murmur seemed to suggest aortic stenosis, the other auscultation findings and the initial clinical tests clearly supported its source in a mitral insufficiency. The echocardiography allowed us not only to confirm our suspicion, but also to explain this auscultation finding mechanism, to show a severe mitral insufficiency with a anterior and medial jet, which struck the aorta and atrial septum. The surgery found a clear aortic vibration, which disappeared after implanting the mitral protheses. Our case illustrates the value of new diagnostic image techniques to complement the semiologic findings.