Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy in patients with mitral valve prolapse: Its advantage over stress electrocardiography in diagnosing associated coronary artery disease and its implications for the etiology of chest pain.

Patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) frequently experience chest pain which may, expecially in older subjects and males, be difficult to differentiate from angina pectoris. Electrocardiographic (ECG) changes, ventricular arrhythmias, metabolic abnormalities and rare reports of myocardial infarction and sudden death further suggest the presence of an ischemic process in these patients. The recognition of accompanying coronary artery disease (CAD) and exclusion of other causes of ischemia, therefore, may be important in determining the prognosis and appropriate therapy for such patients.