Dermatoglyphics in valvular heart diseases

ABSTRACT

Finger and palm dermatoglyphics and ABO blood grouping were performed to three groups each of 20 male patients, in addition to a group of 20 normal volunteering males as control. The first group was patients with isolated aortic valve lesions, the second was patients with isolated mitral stenosis and the third was patients with combined mitral and aortic valve lesions. Whorls were of a higher percentage in all groups. The total ridge count, the pattern intensity index and the a-b ridge count ranged normally in all groups. The group with isolated aortic valve lesions showed a significant high degree of atd angle, distal deviation of the axial triradius, multiple triradii, in addition to hypothenar pattern, indicating a genetic predisposition. As regards the blood grouping, mitral stenosis occurred more in the non-O blood groups and blood group AB was significantly higher in the group with combined valve lesions