Auscultatory manifestations of mitral valve prolapse in children with connective tissue dysplasia

Aim. To study the features of auscultatory symptoms in children with mitral valve prolapse secondary to connective tissue dysplasia. Methods. Auscultation and phonocardiography was performed in 545 children and adolescents with mitral valve prolapse, including a prolapse, which is a variant of the asthenic constitution - 140, with a prolapse with undifferentiated connective tissue dysplasia - 340, with mitral valve prolapse with differentiated connective tissue dysplasia - 65 children (patients with Marfan syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome). The control group consisted of 200 children and adolescents of similar age. Results. In children with an asthenic constitution and mitral valve prolapse in most cases (90.7%) established were isolated clicks, and only iin a small percentage of cases the clicks combined with the late systolic murmur. Complaints of these children did not differ significantly in the frequency from the control values. Compared with the control group up to 6 times more frequently found was the symptom of chronic psychoemotional stress. Chronic psychoemotional stress was also observed more frequently in adolescents with mitral valve prolapse in the background of undifferentiated and differentiated connective tissue dysplasia. Children with asthenic constitution the frequency of cardiac pain did not differ from the control values. A significant increase in the frequency of cardialgia was reported in children and adolescents with undifferentiated and differentiated connective tissue dysplasia. Cardiac pain was described as stabbing, pressing, aching, and was felt in the left side of the chest without irradiation. In most children the pain continued for 5-20 min, were usually enduced by physical exertion and emotional stress, often accompanied by autonomic disturbances, which resolved spontaneously or after administration of the tincture of valerian or valokordin. The absence of ischemic changes in the myocardium according to the comprehensive investigation can be regarded as a manifestation of cardialgia as a sympathalgia related to psychoemotional features of children with mitral valve prolapse («cardiac pain is inseparable from the personality»). The auscultatory pattern suring mitral valve prolapse in the background of undifferentiated and differentiated connective tissue dysplasia was very similar. Conclusion. According to the phonocardiography and auscultatory data we can conclude that there is a certain parallelism of the severity of valve leaflet prolapse and of the sound phenomena: in isolated clicks the leaflet prolapse degree is usually minor, however in cases of isolated late systolic and holosystolic murmurs - the prolapse degree is significant.

mitral valve prolapse, isolated clicks, late systolic murmur, holosystolic murmur