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Background— Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is the most common valvular heart disease representing a generalized disease of connective tissue in the primary form. Elastic properties of the aorta with primary MVP may be expected to be increased.We aimed to determine the aortic elasticity in the primary form of MVP.Methods and results— Twenty male patients with a primary form of MVP not having any sign of Marfan syndrome and joint hyperlaxity syndrome and twenty healthy individuals were included in the study.Aortic strain, aortic distensibility index and aortic stiffness index were calculated by using aortic diameters obtained by echocardiography and blood pressures measured by sphygmomanometer. When comparing the MVP group and the control group it was found that the aortic stiffness index was increased (P<0.05) whereas the aortic distensibility and strain index were decreased (P<0.05) in the MVP group. There was no significant difference between the characteristics of the groups (P>0.05).Conclusion— We concluded that the elastic properties of the aorta were decreased in the primary form of MVP, unexpectedly.Therefore, results of decreased aortic elasticity should also be followed up in patients with MVP.

Background— Myocardial performance index (MPI) is a valuable index of global ventricular performance. It is almost always measured by Doppler echocardiography. The purposes of this study were (1) to compare MPI measured by catheterization (MPIc) and that measured by Doppler echocardiography (MPId), and (2) to compare it with the functional status.Materials and methods— The study included 80 patients who had undergone left heart catheterization. The MPIc was measured from the pressure recordings obtained at left ventricle and aorta.Results— Mean MPId and MPIc were 0.40 ± 0.12 and 0.42 ± 0.12, respectively. Mean left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) was 13 ± 5 mm Hg. Mean heart rate was 77 ± 11 beats/min. Mann-Whitney U test revealed that MPIc could discriminate between the functional statuses of the patients. The regression analysis revealed that there is a good correlation between MPIc and MPId, LVEDP or heart rate.There was no significant difference between MPIc and MPId (p > 0.05).Conclusion— The present data show that (1) the MPIc has a strong correlation with MPId; (2) it is a good discriminator of functional status. It may provide an additional information regarding the left ventricular performance in patients who underwent the cardiac catheterization.

Objective— Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease which may show cardiac involvement. The effect of AS on aortic elasticity has not been previously defined. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was any change in aortic elasticity in AS.Methods and results— Thirty-five AS patients without cardiovascular involvement and 30 healthy subjects were enrolled into the study. Aortic strain, distensibility index and stiffness index beta were calculated from aortic diameters measured by echocardiography and blood pressures simultaneously measured by sphygmomanometry.The mean aortic strain and distensibility indexes in the AS group were lower than those in the control group.The mean aortic stiffness index in the AS group was higher than that in the control group (p < 0.05). No correlation between the means and the duration was observed in the AS group.Conclusion— We found that in AS patients without cardiac involvement, aortic elasticity was decreased and this decrease was not correlated with the duration of AS.