Mitral annular calcification leading to severe mitral stenosis in a patient with severe calcific aortic stenosis and complete heart block: Different shades of calcium in heart

Abstract

Calcium deposition in the heart can present in various ways. Mitral annular calcification (MAC) can cause mitral regurgitation but severe mitral stenosis has been reported very rarely. Mitral stenosis in the Indian subcontinent is mostly caused by rheumatic heart disease; however, here, we present a case of severe mitral stenosis due to MAC in a hypertensive and diabetic female that also had severe calcific aortic stenosis and conduction defect. Clinicians need to be aware of other causes of acquired mitral stenosis that include systemic lupus erythematosus, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, carcinoid syndrome, mucopolysaccharidosis, Whipple disease, radiation, and MAC. Although MAC usually causes mitral regurgitation, severe mitral stenosis has been reported very rarely. However, when MAC is the cause of severe mitral stenosis, those patients are poor candidates for mitral valve replacement. Differentiating the etiology of mitral stenosis is of therapeutic and prognostic significance.

Keywords

• mitral annular calcification
• mitral stenosis
• rheumatic heart disease