The apical long axis view from a 2-D echocardiogram shows a flail posterior leaflet of the mitral valve. It has exaggerated motion in diastole and prolapses into the left atrium with diastole. The bright echo seen at the tip suggests that a ruptured papillary muscle as the etiology. The presence of left atrial enlargement suggests that there is significant mitral regurgitation.
Courtesy of Thomas Binder, MD. University of Vienna.
