[Mitral valve prolapse and angina with normal coronary arteries: research of a thrombogenic factor]

The potential thrombotic risk of mitral valve prolapse may, in certain circumstances, require preventive treatment. This study was aimed at determining whether the presence of angina in patients with mitral valve prolapse and healthy coronary vessels was accompanied by a high-risk thrombogenic profile. Forty two patients (19 women and 23 men) with anginal chest pain and angiographically normal coronary vessels were divided into two populations according to the presence (18 patients) or absence (24 patients) of mitral valve prolapse (MVP) shown by angiography. Before angiography, all patients underwent laboratory studies to detect any possible abnormality of plasma coagulation and of prothrombotic physiological fibrinolysis. Study of subgroups, according to sex and/or the presence of MVP, revealed no significant difference in the profile of laboratory parameters. Thus the presence of angiographic MVP in symptomatic patients free of atherosclerosis is not associated with the existence of any particular thrombotic profile and, theoretically, does not require preventive anti-thrombotic treatment.