Heart valves

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Aortic valve - drawing. (WC/Gray's Anatomy)

Heart valves are the domain of the cardiac surgeon and their bread & butter.

Clinical

General

  • Insufficiency (regurgitant flow) - murmur in diastole.
  • Stenosis (decreased flow area) - murmur in systole.

Pathology

Which valves cause the most trouble?

  • Mostly those on the left side (subjected to higher pressures), i.e. mitral valve (or left atrioventricular v.) and aortic valve.

Aortic stenosis - cause?

  • Mostly "calcific aortic stenosis".

Quick approach to valves

Gross

  • Calcification?
    • Consider calcific stenosis.
  • Vegetations?
    • Consider infective endocarditis.
  • Thin (see-through)?
    • Consider myxomatous change.

Microscopic

  • Inflammation?
    • Consider endocarditis.
  • Anitschkow's cells (caterpillar cells)?
    • Rheumatic heart disease.
  • Aschoff bodies?
    • Rheumatic heart disease.
  • Thickening of spongiosa (layer)?
    • Myxomatous change?

Normal morphology

Aortic valve

General

  • Covered by endothelium.
  • Mostly avascular (nutrients supplied by diffusion).

Gross

Terminology:

  • Base - closest to the aortic wall.
  • Free edge - closest to the centre of the valve/interacts with other valve cusps.

Cusps:

  • Left - has LMCA ostium.
  • Right - has RCA ostium.
  • Posterior (non-coronary cusp).

Note:

Microscopic

Three layers (from proximal (ventricular side) to distal (valsalva side)):[1]

  1. Ventricularis.
    • Elastic tissue.
  2. Spongiosa.
    • Loose connective tissue.
  3. Fibrosa.
    • Mostly collagen, thickest part in a normal valve.

Notes:

  • The loading of the ventricular aspect is tensile and the valsalva side compressive. Thus, it makes sense that the tissue on the ventricular aspect is good in tensile loading and the tissue on the valsalva side good in compression. The elastic tissue can be thought of as rebar... the collagen as concrete.

Image:

Mitral valve

Gross

  • Cordae tendinae.
    • Should be thin.
    • No fusion.

Note:

Microscopic

Similar to the aortic valve - layers:

  1. Atrialis.[3]
  2. Spongiosa.
  3. Fibrosa.

Degenerative conditions

Calcific aortic stenosis

  • Abbreviated CAS.

Localized dystrophic heart valve amyloidosis

General

  • Common:
  • Not seen in acute disease and healed endocarditis.[6]

Hypothesis:

Microscopic

Features:[6]

  • Pink amorphous material - key feature.
    • Usually around the calcific foci.

DDx:

Stains

  • Congo red +ve.

Dystrophic amyloid:[6]

  • Alcian blue -ve.
  • Periodic acid-Schiff -ve.

Myxomatous degeneration

General

Gross

Features:[10]

  • No commissural fusion.
    • Commissural fusion typical of rheumatic heart disease.
  • Thickened.
  • Rubbery consistency.
  • Reactive/secondary changes.
    • Fibrosis due to prolapse/abnormal contact of valve with other structures.
    • Clots/organized thrombus - due to stasis.

Microscopic

  • Thinning of fibrosa layer.
  • Thickening of spongiosa layer with mucoid (myxomatous) material. (key feature).
  • +/-Secondary changes (due to valvular dysfunction): thrombi, fibrosis.

Staining

  • Movat stain.
    • Acid fuchsin, alcian blue, crocein scarlet, elastic hematoxylin, pathology consultation, and saffron.[11][12]

Interpretation of Movat stain:[12]

  • Black = nuclei and elastic fibers.
  • Yellow = collagen and reticular fibers.
  • Blue = mucin, ground substance.
  • Red (intense) = fibrin.
  • Red = muscle.

Image:

Infective conditions

Rheumatic heart disease

Rheumatic fever redirects here.
  • Abbreviated RHD.

General

  • Classically leads to mitral valve stenosis.
    • Rheumatic fever accounts for 99% of mitral stenosis.[13]
      • Caused by Streptococcus pyogenes.[14]
  • Disease less frequent today - as streptococcal pharynigits is treated.

Gross

  • "Fish-mouth appearance".
  • Significant valvular thickening.
  • Thickening and shortening of the cordae tendinae.

DDx:

  • Thickening of the cordae tendinae due to micronodular cirrhosis.[16]

Images

Microscopic

Features:[17]

  • Caterpillar cells (AKA Anitschkow cells)
    • Abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm.
    • Moderately-poorly defined cell border.
    • Well-defined central ovoid nucleus with a prominent wavy ribbon-like chromatin -- looks vaguely like a caterpillar with some imagination.
    • Pathognomonic for rheumatic fever.
  • Aschoff bodies - usually in the heart itself:
    • Jumbled collagen, eosinophilic.
    • Surrounded by lymphocytes (T cells) +/- plasma cells.

Notes:

  • Anitschkow cells are thought to be histocytes and Aschoff bodies are thought to be granulomas.[18]
    • This is disputed.[19]

Images

IHC

Features (Aschoff bodies & Anitschkow cells):[18]

  • S100 -ve.
  • Muscle specific actin -ve.
  • Desmin -ve.
  • NF -ve.
  • Vimentin +ve.
  • CD45 +ve (weak).

Infective endocarditis

Non-infective conditions

Mitral valve prolapse

  • Abbreviated MVP.
  • AKA floppy mitral valve.[20]

General

  • Classically young women.
  • Afflicts ~ 3% of population in the USA.[21]

Clinical:

  • Pansystolic murmur.
  • +/-Left ventricular hypertrophy - secondary to MVP.

Complications:[21]

Gross

Features - any of the following:[23]

  1. "Intrachordal hooding" = ballooning/bulging of leaflet between chordal attachments.
  2. Hooding or doming of the body of the leftlet into the left atrium.
    • Extreme concavity of the valve when seen from the left ventricle.
  3. Elongated leaflets/large valve area.
  4. Dilated valve annulus.
  • Thickening of the valve.
  • +/-Left ventricular hypertrophy.

Note - location:

  • Posterior leaflet pathology more common than anterior leaflet pathology.[23]

Image:

Microscopic

Features:[23][21]

  • Increased thickness of spongiosa layer. ‡
  • Thinning of the fibrosa layer.
  • +/-Fibrin deposition - atrial aspect.

Notes:

  • ‡ The Tthicking may be due to superimposed fibrosis, instead of spongiosa layer thickening.[24]

DDx:

Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis

  • Abbreviated NBTE.
  • AKA marantic endocarditis.[25]

General

Associations:

  • Cardiac catheterization.[26]
  • Embolization.[25]
  • Malignancy - leading cause, usu. adenocarcinoma.[27]

Note:

  • Marantic = wasting away.

Gross

  • Round non-destructive vegetations, usually at the line of closure.[28]

Microscopic

Features:

  • Vegetation without inflammation and microorganisms.

Libman-Sacks endocarditis

General

  • Associated with systemic lupus erythematosus.
    • Seen in approximately in 1/10 SLE cases by echocardiography.[29]
  • Affects the mitral and aortic valves.[30]
    • Mitral valve most commonly affected.[31]
  • It has been suggested that it may be a manifestation of APLA syndrome.[30][31]

Clinical:

  • Usually regurgitation.

Gross

  • Vegetations anywhere on the valve surface[29] - often seen on both sides (flow surface & non-flow surface).[32]
  • Flat, pale brown/tan, usually small.[33]

Images:

Microscopic

Features:[citation needed]

  • Fibrin.
  • No microorganisms.
  • No inflammation.

Biscupid aortic valve

General

  • Aortic valve usually tricuspid.
  • Most common congenital heart defect.[34]
    • 1-2% of general population.[35]
      • Male:female ~ 2:1.[36]
  • Inherited in autosomal dominant pattern.
    • NOTCH1 gene - implicated.[37]

Significance:

Gross

Features - either:

  1. Raphe does not reach the free margin of the cusp.[39]
  2. No raphe - uncommon (~7% of cases).[40]

Note:

  • Raphe ~ suture or seam.[41]

Images:

Microscopic

Features - section through raphe:

  • "No evidence of fusion."[39]
  • Elastic fibres through-out (not interrupted by fibrous tissue). (???)

Note:

  • The clinical impression and gross pathologic impression of bicuspid valve should concur.

DDx:

Sign out

AORTIC VALVE, REPLACEMENT:
- BICUSPID AORTIC VALVE WITH CALCIFIC STENOSIS.

Micro

The sections show valve tissue with marked calcification of the fibrosa layer. No neutrophils are identified. No microorganisms are identified with routine stains.

Heart valve tumours

Papillary fibroelastomas are the most common tumour of the valve.

Other

Subvalvular membrane

Subvalvular aortic membrane redirects here.

General

Clinical:

  • Symptoms of aortic stenosis.
  • No ejection sound (as in aortic valvular stenosis).[44]

Microscopic

Features:

Note:

  • Similar to valvular tissue.

Stains

Sign out

SUBVALVULAR MEMBRANE, AORTA, EXCISION:
- BENIGN PAUCICELLULAR FIBROUS TISSUE CONSISTENT WITH SUBVALVULAR MEMBRANE.

See also

References

  1. Cotran, Ramzi S.; Kumar, Vinay; Fausto, Nelson; Nelso Fausto; Robbins, Stanley L.; Abbas, Abul K. (2005). Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease (7th ed.). St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier Saunders. pp. 558. ISBN 0-7216-0187-1.
  2. URL: http://www.e-heart.org/pages/01_cardiac_structure/01_Cardiac_Structure_MV_003.htm. Accessed on: 20 December 2012.
  3. Chesler, E.; King, RA.; Edwards, JE. (Mar 1983). "The myxomatous mitral valve and sudden death.". Circulation 67 (3): 632-9. PMID 6821906.
  4. Kristen, AV.; Schnabel, PA.; Winter, B.; Helmke, BM.; Longerich, T.; Hardt, S.; Koch, A.; Sack, FU. et al. "High prevalence of amyloid in 150 surgically removed heart valves--a comparison of histological and clinical data reveals a correlation to atheroinflammatory conditions.". Cardiovasc Pathol 19 (4): 228-35. doi:10.1016/j.carpath.2009.04.005. PMID 19502085.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Falk, E.; Ladefoged, C.; Christensen, HE. (Jan 1981). "Amyloid deposits in calcified aortic valves.". Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand A 89 (1): 23-6. PMID 7223424.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Cooper, JH. (Jul 1983). "Localized dystrophic amyloidosis of heart valves.". Hum Pathol 14 (7): 649-53. PMID 6190729.
  7. URL: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/759004-overview. Accessed on: 8 June 2010.
  8. Leong SW, Soor GS, Butany J, Henry J, Thangaroopan M, Leask RL (October 2006). "Morphological findings in 192 surgically excised native mitral valves". Can J Cardiol 22 (12): 1055-61. PMID 17036100.
  9. Wigle ED, Rakowski H, Ranganathan N, Silver MC (1976). "Mitral valve prolapse". Annu. Rev. Med. 27: 165–80. doi:10.1146/annurev.me.27.020176.001121. PMID 779595.
  10. Cotran, Ramzi S.; Kumar, Vinay; Fausto, Nelson; Nelso Fausto; Robbins, Stanley L.; Abbas, Abul K. (2005). Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease (7th ed.). St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier Saunders. pp. 591. ISBN 0-7216-0187-1.
  11. URL: http://www.mayomedicallaboratories.com/test-catalog/Overview/9832. Accessed on: 8 June 2010.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Modified Movat's Pentachrome Stain. University Penn Medicine. URL: http://www.med.upenn.edu/mcrc/histology_core/movat.shtml. Accessed on: January 29, 2009.
  13. Cotran, Ramzi S.; Kumar, Vinay; Fausto, Nelson; Nelso Fausto; Robbins, Stanley L.; Abbas, Abul K. (2005). Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease (7th ed.). St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier Saunders. pp. 594. ISBN 0-7216-0187-1.
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  15. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipse. Accessed on: 13 November 2010.
  16. Rose, Alan G. (2008). Atlas of Gross Pathology with Histologic Correlation (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 25. ISBN 978-0521868792.
  17. Cotran, Ramzi S.; Kumar, Vinay; Fausto, Nelson; Nelso Fausto; Robbins, Stanley L.; Abbas, Abul K. (2005). Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease (7th ed.). St. Louis, Mo: Elsevier Saunders. pp. 593. ISBN 0-7216-0187-1.
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  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Mitchell, Richard; Kumar, Vinay; Fausto, Nelson; Abbas, Abul K.; Aster, Jon (2011). Pocket Companion to Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease (8th ed.). Elsevier Saunders. pp. 296. ISBN 978-1416054542.
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