Electrocardiographic abnormalities in young athletes with mitral valve prolapse

Supraventricular arrhythmia in mitral valve prolapse : Predictive value of P-wave dispersion and atrial conduction time

BACKGROUND

The incidence of supraventricular arrhythmia (SVA) is high in patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP). The purpose of our study was to determine the role of parameters showing atrial conduction heterogeneity such as P‑wave dispersion (PWD) and atrial electromechanical delay (AEMD) in predicting the development of SVA in MVP patients.

METHODS

A total of 76 patients with MVP (56 female, 20 male) were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of SVA: 36 patients were allocated to the non-SVA group and 40 patients to the SVA group. Heart rate variability (HRV), PWD, and AEMD values were determined and compared.

RESULTS

The PWD was found to be higher in the SVA group. Interatrial EMD was 32.00 ms (25.00-35.00) in patients with SVA while it was 18.00 ms in patients without SVA (11.00-23.75); the intra-atrial EMD was 17.0 ms (10.00-20.00) in patients with SVA whereas it was 10.00 ms (4.00-14.00) in patients without SVA. Lower HRV was found in the SVA group.

CONCLUSION

In the SVA group, PWD and AEMD were increased while HRV values were decreased. Noninvasive parameters may help predict the presence and incidence of SVA during the follow-up of this group of patients.

Frequency of Congenital Heart Diseases in Prelingual Sensory-Neural Deaf Children

INTRODUCTION

Hearing impairment is the most frequent sensorial congenital defect in newborns and has increased to 2-4 cases per 1,000 live births. Sensory-neural hearing loss (SNHL) accounts for more than 90% of all hearing loss. This disorder is associated with other congenital disorders such as renal, skeletal, ocular, and cardiac disorders. Given that congenital heart diseases are life-threatening, we decided to study the frequency of congenital heart diseases in children with congenital sensory-neural deafness.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All children who had undergone cochlear implantation surgery due to SNHL and who had attended our hospital for speech therapy during 2008-2011 were evaluated by Doppler echocardiography.

RESULTS

Thirty-one children (15 boys and 16 girls) with a mean age of 55.70 months were examined, and underwent electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography. None of the children had any signs of heart problems in their medical records. Most of their heart examinations were normal, one patient had expiratory wheeze, four (12%) had mid-systolic click, and four (12%) had an intensified S1 sound. In echocardiography, 15 children (46%) had mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and two (6%) had minimal mitral regurgitation (MR). Mean ejection fraction (EF) was 69% and the mean fractional shortening (FS) was 38%.

CONCLUSION

This study indicates the need for echocardiography and heart examinations in children with SNHL.

Electrocardiographic changes in mitral valve prolapse syndrome

Introduction: Mitral valve prolapse syndrome (MVP) is the most common valvular abnormalityin the young and is correlated with increased frequency of cardiac dysrhythmias and sudden death.The aim of this study was to compare frequency of “early repolarization” in electrocardiogram(ECG) between MVP patients and healthy adults.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we compared ECG presentations of early repolarizationincluding notch in descending arm of QRS and J-point and/or ST segment changes in 100 patientswith MVP with 100 healthy individuals. MVP patients were referred to cardiology clinic withsymptoms of palpitation, chest pain or anxiety.

Results: The mean age in patients with MVP was significantly less than healthy subjects (29.5 ±9.3 years versus 31.0 ± 6.9 years in control group, P= 0.1967). We detected early repolarizationas a prevalent sign in ECG of patients which was a notch in descending arm of QRS and/or STsegment or J-point elevation seen in 74% of patients ( 51% in inferior leads and 23% in I and aVLleads) , whilst the same findings were seen in 8 men (8%) in control group (P= 0.0001).

Conclusion: Early repolarization in ECG presented as a notch in descending arm of QRS and/or ST segment or J-point elevation is more frequent in in young patients with MVP syndrome.

Reverse Δ-wave as a possible sign in electrocardiography to diagnose mitral valve prolapse

Background

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is defined as superior displacement of the mitral valve leaflets more than 2 mm into the left atrium during systole. Easier and cheaper assessment of this common disease is a priority in cardiac health care facilities.

Presentation of the hypothesis

In this study I addressed electrocardiographic presentation in 300 patients with MVP compared with 100 healthy individuals. I faced a novel finding in electrocardiogram (ECG) examination of these patients. It was a notch (reverse Δ-wave) in descending arm of QRS observed in 79% (237/300) of patients, consisting of 58% (174/300) in inferior leads and 21% (63/300) in I and aVL leads. The notch was identified only in 6 men in control group.

Testing the hypothesis

Considering the relatively higher prevalence of disease, a population-based diagnostic clinical trial study is appropriate to test the hypothesis.

Implications of the hypothesis

The hypothesis on diagnostic value of reverse Δ-wave in MVP may help in decreasing the rate of unnessessary echocardiography in some patients.