The chordae tendineae are thin, strong fibrous cords that connect the edges and undersides of the mitral and tricuspid valve leaflets to the papillary muscles. Often called the heart strings, they work like the rigging of a parachute. They stop the leaflets turning inside out into the atria when the ventricles contract.
| Location | Inside the right and left ventricles, running from the papillary muscles (and on the right, partly from the septum) to the atrioventricular valve leaflets. |
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| Parts |
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Transmit the pull of the papillary muscles to the valve leaflets, keeping them aligned and closed under high systolic pressure and maintaining ventricular shape.
Rupture of a chorda, often in a degenerative or prolapsing mitral valve or in endocarditis, causes a flail leaflet and sudden regurgitation. Surgeons can replace damaged chordae with artificial cords during mitral repair. Elongated chordae contribute to mitral valve prolapse.
Snapping of one or more cords, letting part of a leaflet flail into the atrium. It causes sudden severe regurgitation and breathlessness.
Stretching of the cords in degenerative valve disease. It allows the leaflets to prolapse and leak.
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