[Fatal rupture of the ventricular strut of a Björk-Shiley prosthesis in mitral position. Description of a case, review of the literature and elements of differential diagnosis]. / Letale rottura del supporto ventricolare di una protesi di Björk-Shiley in posizione mitralica. Descrizione di un caso, revisione della letteratura ed elementi di diagnostica differenziale.

We describe a fatal case of outlet strut's fracture of a Björk-Shiley mitral valve prosthesis with displacement of the disc in left ventricular cavity. The acute, catastrophic nature of the symptoms associated with massive transvalvular regurgitation preclude survival except with immediate operation; consequently, we describe the clinical and instrumental elements for a very early diagnosis.

[Echo-phonomechanocardiographic relations of the systolic time intervals of the left ventricle (author's transl)]. / Relazioni eco-fonomeccanocardiografiche dei tempi sistolici del ventricolo sinistro.

15 normal subjects and 23 subjects with cardiac valve disease have been studied. All the subjects have undergone an echo-phonomechanocardiographic investigation with simultaneous recording of the tracings. The values of the systolic time intervals have been obtained from the echo-cardiographic tracings and compared with those obtained from the phonomechanocardiographic tracings evaluating the differences between them. The comparison has pointed out values nearly coincident, providing useful elements about the relations existing between the cardiac sounds and the moments of closure of the mitral and aortic valves. Moreover, the two techniques are considered useful and valid in the evaluation of the left ventricle performance by the systolic time intervals, especially when the recording is carried out simultaneously.