[Mitral prolapse and sudden deafness].

Whilst it is generally accepted that sudden idiopathic sudden deafness is due to vascular spasm (though such a possibility has in no way been demonstrated), it would seem necessary for another explanation to be envisaged quite often: an embolic process. The present series of 58 cases included 23 cases of Barlow's disease, i.e. 39.6%, whilst the incidence of this mitral valve abnormality in the general population is only 5 to 10%. Already accepted as an aetiology for cerebral and retinal vascular accidents, Barlow's disease, revealed only by echocardiography, calls for the replacement of classical vasodilator therapy by treatment involving heparin and antiagregants.