Submitral left ventricular aneurysm of ischemic origin: report of two surgical cases.

Submitral left ventricular aneurysm has been exclusively recognized in the young African population and its occurrence in other than black Africans is rarely reported. Here we describe two surgical cases of submitral left ventricular aneurysm in Asian elderly persons. Although the aneurysms were typically located beneath the posterior mitral valve leaflet, we could identify diseased coronary arteries as well, unlike the reports in the literature asserting that this type of aneurysm occurs in the absence of coronary disease. The possible racial difference with regard to the etiology is addressed.