Conservative Management of Suicide Left Ventricle After Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement

Suicide left ventricle (SLV) remains an underdiagnosed cause of haemodynamic compromise following surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (AVR). Risk factors include female sex and a small left ventricular cavity with asymmetric septal hypertrophy. We present the case of a 63-year-old woman, with a medical history of diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and dyslipidaemia who was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis with normal left ventricular ejection fraction and concentric hypertrophy. She underwent surgical AVR using a bioprosthetic valve, but a few hours after surgery, she developed sudden cardiogenic shock. An urgent transthoracic echocardiogram was performed showing marked systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve resulting in severe dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and intraventricular gradient. The diagnosis of SLV was made. The patient was managed conservatively with volume loading and oral beta-blockers and her haemodynamic state improved gradually. She was then discharged after favourable evolution. Medical management of SLV includes volume loading to expand the ventricular volume and beta-blockers for their negative inotrope effect. When medical therapy fails, surgical myectomy or alcohol septal ablation can be proposed to remove the obstacle. Some authors have proposed these procedures as prophylactic measures to prevent SLV in high-risk patients.