Thromboembolic complications of mitral valve disease.

Five hundred and eighty-eight patients with mitral valve disease were studied. The incidence of systemic emboli was found to be higher in patients with pure mitral stenosis (16.6%) and mixed mitral stenosis and incompetence (19.4%) than in patients with mitral incompetence (3.1%). The patients with mitral stenosis who had episodes of systemic emboli tended to be older than 40 years, with moderate or severe valve lesions, atrial fibrillation and moderate or gross enlargement of the left atrial appendage or left atrium. The following factors were found to be unrelated to systemic embolism---associated aortic valve disease, sex, smoking habit, history of rheumatism, parity, haemoglobin, blood urea, pulmonary hypertension, duration of antifailure treatment, presence of heart failure, and cardiothoracic ratio.