[Mitral valve prolapse in patients with anorexia nervosa]

Mitral valve prolapse was echocardiographically examined for 23 female patients with anorexia nervosa. The age was ranged from 13 to 26 and averaged 19.6 years. Their body weights ranged from -25 to -45% of the ideal body weights. Mitral valve prolapse was detected in 19 (83%) cases. The involved valve leaflets were anterior and posterior in 10 and anterior in nine cases, and significant bradycardia was present in the former. Left ventricular end-diastolic dimension was less than the control subjects. The follow-up study in five patients disclosed that each prolapse was unchanged despite of the significant improvement of the disease. The involved mechanism of prolapse in patients with anorexia nervosa was discussed in the light of vagotony based on the pharmacodynamic tests and the results of the previous experimental works of Imataka et al.