Echocardiographic mitral valve prolapse in ballet dancers: a function of leanness.

To determine the prevalence of mitral valve prolapse in ballet dancers by echocardiography and to establish which anthropometric measurements best predict the presence of mitral valve prolapse, we compared 44 professional dancers (22 men and 22 women) with 52 controls (24 men and 28 women). Forty-eight percent (21 of 44) of dancers had echocardiographic mitral valve prolapse compared with 10% (5 of 52) of controls (p less than 0.01). The dancers weighed less than the controls and had significantly smaller bony diameters and body circumferences. However, only ponderal index was predictive of mitral valve prolapse in both dancers and controls. Thus, echocardiographic mitral valve prolapse is associated with low body weight relative to height and neither to ballet dancing nor to a distinct body habitus. Echocardiographic mitral valve prolapse may represent a normal variant in the majority of asymptomatic, thin subjects without auscultatory findings.

Computerized tomography in intracardiac tumors.

Two cases of cardiac tumors were studied by computerized tomography. The first patient presented with cerebral embolization from left atrial tumor. Chest X-ray showed calcification in the region of the atria. A 2-"D" echo showed tumors of the right and left atrium. CT studies with contrast confirmed tumors of right and left atria its relationship with atrial septum and calcification. This is the first case report in the literature of multicentric biatrial tumors thought to be myxomas shown by computerized tomography. The second patient presented with weight loss, progressive weakness, shortness of breath and palpitations. A 2-"D" echo showed a large pedunculated left atrial mass prolapsing across the mitral valve into the left ventricle. CT with contrast showed large mass 3.5 X 4.5 cm in the left atrium. At surgery, this was proved to be a left atrial myxoma.

Comparison between intraamniotic PGF2 alpha and vaginal PGE2 for second-trimester abortion.

Two hundred three consecutive patients undergoing second-trimester abortion with either intraamniotic prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha) or vaginal prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were compared. There were no statistical differences between the 2 groups with regard to age, race, gravidity, or gestational age. The average induction-to-abortion (I-A) interval for PGF2 alpha was 18.53 hours, compared with 13.25 hours for PGE2. The largest difference was in primigravidas (PGE2 6 hours shorter). There was no difference in the frequency of completed abortions in each group (approximately 50%). No correlation was found between gestational age and the I-A interval or percentage of complete abortions. Percentage of abortions completed by 24 hours or less was 97.6% for PGE2, versus 78.5% for PGF2 alpha. Abortions with PGE2 required a larger total prostaglandin dose and a cost 2.8 times greater than did those with PGF2 alpha. Side effects of vomiting, diarrhea, pyrexia, and hypotension were significantly more frequent with PGE2 suppositories. Hypertension was statistically more common with PGF2 alpha. In pregnancy of less than 16 weeks' duration, the known difficulty in performing amniocentesis and the proved shorter I-A interval with PGE2 imply that vaginal suppositories are the agent of choice prior to 16 weeks' gestation.