A Problem Defined by Real-time Cross-sectional Echocardiography

The cross-sectional echocardiographic features of mitral valve prolapse were defined in 26 children (ages 2-18 years) using a real-time, multiple-crystal ultrasound scanner. In each patient the physical findings of the mitral valve click-murmur syndrome were present and mitral valve prolapse had been diagnosed previously by conventional single crystal echocardiography. Mitral prolapse occurred in a familial setting in eight patients and was associated with the Marfan syndrome in five. Real-time two-dimensional echocardiography uniformly disclosed maximum mitral arching and the superior-posterior prolapse. These visual observations were confirmed by M-mode recordings derived from single elements within the array of 20 crystals. The method allowed a complete M-mode description of the phasic motion of the entire mitral apparatus and observations of the spectrum of prolapse from discrete late systolic prolapse to "hammock-like" holosystolic prolapse. Further, the recording of multiple systolic M-mode lines occurred when the ultra-