|
|
|
|
Mitral-valve prolapse was present in 4 of the 213 young patients with stroke (1.9 percent), as compared with 7 of the 263 controls (2.7 percent); prolapse was present in 2 of 71 patients (2.8 percent) with otherwise unexplained stroke. The crude odds ratio for mitral-valve prolapse among the patients who had strokes, as compared with those who did not have strokes, was 0.70 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.15 to 2.80; P=0.80); after adjustment for age and sex, the odds ratio was 0.59 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.12 to 2.50; P=0.62). Mitral-valve prolapse is considerably less common than previously reported among young patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack, including unexplained stroke, and no more common than among con trols. Using more specific and currently accepted echocardiographic criteria, therefore we could not demonstrate an association between the presence of mitral-valve prolapse and acute ischemic neurologic events in young people. |
|