Von Willebrand factor and mitral valve prolapse.

The levels of von Willebrand factor (vWF:Ag) were measured in 27 patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and compared to 27 age matched controls. Decreased levels of vWF:Ag (less than 80%) were found in 59% (16/27) of those with MVP compared to only 7% (2/27) of the controls (p less than 0.001).

The value of electrocardiography in patients with right ventricular endocardial pacemakers in the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy: a correlative study of pace electrocardiography and left ventricular mass derived from M-mode echocardiography.

This study evaluated 51 patients with permanent apical right ventricular endocardial pacemakers. The assessment of the diagnostic value of pace electrocardiograms for the determination of left ventricular hypertrophy revealed specificity of 94% and sensitivity of 66%, applying a new parameter: RL1 + SV3 greater than or equal to 30 mm. The application of this criterion in the interpretation of pace electrocardiograms correlated well with values for the left ventricular mass derived from M-mode echocardiograms (r = 0.

The von Willebrand factor in myocardial infarction and unstable angina: a kinetic study.

Recent studies have demonstrated elevations of von Willebrand Factor following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In order to determine if this parameter may serve as a marker for AMI, we tested the blood levels of vWF and Factor VIII:C in 28 patients with AMI, 9 patients with unstable angina, 7 patients with atypical chest pain, and 25 healthy volunteers. The level of ristocetin cofactor activity of vWF was between 70 and 144% in the control group.