PMID: 2484003Jun 1, 1989Paper

Prevalence of mitral valve prolapse in patients with premature ventricular contractions and the relationship between the prolapse and the types of premature contractions

Journal of cardiology
T ShiotaT Sugimoto

Abstract

To assess the prevalence of mitral valve prolapse (MVP) in patients with premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), 109 patients with PVCs (M: 69, F: 40, 42 +/- 20 years; mean +/- SD) and 50 control subjects (M: 38, F: 12, 47 +/- 10 years) were studied by echocardiography. MVP was diagnosed by two-dimensional echocardiography. The criterion for mitral valve prolapse by two-dimensional echocardiography is extension of the mitral leaflet to the left atrial side beyond the plane of the mitral annulus. In addition, 60 patients with PVCs were examined by 24-hour Holter ECG and scored by the Lown's classification. Results were as follows: 1) MVP was detected more frequently in patients with PVCs than in the control subjects (22/109, 20% vs 3/50, 6%, p less than 0.05) by echocardiography. 2) PVC patients with MVP were significantly younger than patients without MVP (34 +/- 14 vs 47 +/- 21 yrs, p less than 0.05), but there were no significant differences between these two groups as to sex, left atrial diameter and left ventricular dimension. 3) The 24-hour Holter ECG revealed that the high grade PVCs (Lown grade III & IV) was more closely related to the absence of MVP (20/45, 44% vs 4/11, 36%), though this trend did not reach statistic...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Arrhythmia

Arrhythmias are abnormalities in heart rhythms, which can be either too fast or too slow. They can result from abnormalities of the initiation of an impulse or impulse conduction or a combination of both. Here is the latest research on arrhythmias.

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly due to stroke and thromboembolism. Here is the latest research.