The International Symposium on Ischemic Mitral Incompetence was held December2-4,1988 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Berlin . It wasorganized bythe German Heart Center Berlin with the primary aim to bring together experts interested in the subject of ischemic mitral regurgitation. Our intention was to face the problems associated with diagnosis and treatment of mitral incompetence resulting from coronary artery disease. A "work-up" of the whole topic from its basic, diagnostic, and surgical aspects wasinitiated. In the first section weconcentrate on the basic anatomical and pathophysiological...