Mitral Annular Disjunction: Associated Pathologies and Clinical Consequences

Abstract

Purpose of review: To provide an overview of mitral annular disjunction (MAD) and to discuss important challenges in diagnosis and management of MAD.

Recent findings: MAD has regained interest in the context of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP), coined as the "arrhythmic" MVP syndrome. In addition, MAD in isolation was recently suggested to be associated with severe arrhythmia and SCD. There is a lack of consensus on the definition of MAD and the imaging modality to be used for diagnosing MAD, and the therapeutic implications of MAD remain uncertain. Furthermore, the exact mechanism underlying the association of MAD with SCD remains largely unexplored.

Keywords: Mitral annular disjunction; Mitral regurgitation; Mitral valve prolapse; Sudden cardiac death.