D J Feen | PubMed Health

PubMed1980

Mitral valve prolapse: jet stream causing mural endocarditis.

A 53 year old man died of cerebral hemorrhage while being treated for Streptococcus mutans endocarditis. At autopsy the only endocarditic lesion was on the left atrial mural endocardium. The noninfected mitral valve demonstrated prolapse and mucinous degeneration. The latter had led to rupture of several chordae tendineae, with the resultant jet stream predisposing to endocarditis at its point of atrial impact. The case provides confirmation of current concepts of the pathogenesis of endocarditis and has important therapeutic implications.

Arteriosclerosis↗

PubMed1976

Clinical significance of coronary arterial ectasia.

In a study group of 2,457 consecutive patients undergoing cardiac catheterization, 30 patients had coronary arterial ectasia, an irregular dilatation of major vessels up to seven times the diameter of branch vessels. The frequency of hypertension, abnormal electrocardiogram and history of myocardial infarction was greater than that in a control group with obstructive coronary artery disease. Patients with ectasia did not differ from patients with obstructive disease in sex, age, prevalence of angina or presence of metabolic abnormalities. Six deaths occurred in the group with ectasia during a mean follow-up period of 24 months (annual rate of 15 percent). Extensive destruction of the musculoelastic elements was evident, resulting in marked attenuation of the vessel wall. The short-term prognosis in this group is the same as in medically treated patients with three vessel obstructive coronary artery disease.

Adolescent↗