[A patient with mitral stenosis due to infective endocarditis]

A 51-year-old woman presented with mild stenosis of the mitral valve which had become thickened and rigid due to infective endocarditis, manifesting as persistent fever of up to 40 degrees C and general fatigue of a few days' duration. A harsh systolic murmur was heard. Multiple blood cultures revealed alpha-streptococcus. Echocardiography disclosed asymmetric septal hypertrophy (interventricular septal thickness/posterior wall thickness, 19/14 mm) and systolic anterior wall motion of the mitral valve. Continuous wave Doppler ultrasonography showed a peak left ventricular outflow tract pressure gradient of 170 mmHg. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed vegetations on the anterior mitral leaflet, aortic valve and interventricular septum along the left ventricular outflow tract. In particular, the anterior mitral leaflet was thickened and moved poorly. The calculated mitral valve areas was 1.5 cm2 and peak diastolic left atrium-left ventricle pressure gradient was 7 mmHg. A specimen of the mitral valve did not reveal commissural adhesion, but the anterior mitral leaflet showed marked fibrous thickening caused by scarred vegetation. Based on these findings, the diagnosis was hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy complicated by infective endocarditis and "mitral stenosis". Valvular regurgitation is a common complication of active and healed infective endocarditis. In contrast, infective endocarditis rarely causes valvular stenosis except for stenosis caused by large fungus vegetation.