Prevalence of anxiety disorders in patients with mitral valve prolapse.

Most previous research on mitral valve prolapse investigated its prevalence in patients whose primary diagnosis was one of the anxiety disorders. This study explored the inverse, i.e., the prevalence of anxiety disorders in patients manifesting mitral valve prolapse. There were no significant differences between patients (N = 48) and control subjects (N = 49) in panic disorder, phobic disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder or in the Zung depression score. The patient group scored significantly higher than control subjects on the Zung Anxiety Scale but significantly lower than Zung's patients with "anxiety neurosis". These results cast doubt on the hypothesis that mitral valve prolapse is etiologically related to the pathogenesis of the anxiety disorders.