Absence of echocardiographic abnormalities of the anterior mitral valve leaflet in rheumatoid arthritis

Thirty-five consecutives patients with classic or definite rheumatoid arthritis underwent echocardiography to evaluate the motion of the anterior mitral valve leaflet. Adequate echocardiograms were obtained in 31 patients. All 31 patients showed normal valve motion and a normal EF slope. If meticulo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAnnals of internal medicine Vol. 83; no. 4; p. 500
Main Authors Davia, J E, Cheitlin, M D, de Castro, C M, Lawless, O, Niemi, L
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.10.1975
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - complications
Child
Echocardiography
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Mitral Valve Stenosis - diagnosis
Mitral Valve Stenosis - etiology
Rheumatic Heart Disease - diagnosis
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Summary:Thirty-five consecutives patients with classic or definite rheumatoid arthritis underwent echocardiography to evaluate the motion of the anterior mitral valve leaflet. Adequate echocardiograms were obtained in 31 patients. All 31 patients showed normal valve motion and a normal EF slope. If meticulous technique was not observed, a falsely low value for the EF slope was obtained and a normal slope was found when the method was improved. This study shows that echocardiographic abnormalities of the anterior mitral valve leaflet rarely, if ever, occur in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, provided that careful attention to recording method is observed.
ISSN:0003-4819
DOI:10.7326/0003-4819-83-4-500