title: Identification of the increased frequency of cardiovascular abnormalities associated with mitral valve prolapse by two-dimensional echocardiography.
abstract: Two-dimensional echocardiography (2-D echo) was performed in 86 consecutive patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and in 25 normal subjects. In normal subjects, mitral leaflet thickness was 3.5 +/- 0.8 mm (mean +/- standard deviation) and the mitral leaflet thickness to aortic wall thickness ratio was 1.0 +/- 0.2. Patients with MVP were separated into 2 groups: those with normal mitral thickness (less than or equal to mean + 2 SD observed in normal subjects, i.e., less than or equal to 5.1 mm) and normal mitral thickness to aortic wall thickness ratio (less than or equal to mean + 2 SD observed in normal subjects, i.e., less than or equal to 1.4) (group I) and others in whom these values were increased (group II). In group I, mitral thickness was 3.6 +/- 0.6 mm and mitral thickness to aortic wall thickness ratio was 1.1 +/- 0.1, and in group II, mitral thickness was 8.8 +/- 1.2 mm and mitral thickness to aortic wall thickness ratio was 2.2 +/- 0.5. The only significant cardiovascular abnormalities in group I were mitral regurgitation in 2 patients and tricuspid valve prolapse in 1 patient. In group II, 7 patients had clinically significant mitral regurgitation, 8 had aortic root abnormalities, 4 had tricuspid valve prolapse and 6 had Marfan's syndrome. Cardiovascular abnormalities were present in 60% (18 of 30) of patients in group II and in 6% (3 of 56) of patients in group I (p less than 0.001). Two-dimensional echo enabled the identification of a subset of patients with MVP who had thickened mitral leaflets. These patients had an increased incidence of cardiovascular abnormalities.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D001014:Aortic Aneurysm / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008382:Marfan Syndrome / Q000150:complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008945:Mitral Valve Prolapse / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D014263:Tricuspid Valve Prolapse / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*