Am J Psychiatry 1987; 144:493-496
Copyright © 1987 by American Psychiatric Association
Mitral valve prolapse and thyroid abnormalities in patients with panic attacks
W Matuzas, J Al-Sadir, EH Uhlenhuth and RM Glass
Panic disorder has been associated with mitral valve prolapse and thyroid
abnormalities. Mitral valve prolapse has also been associated with thyroid
abnormalities. The authors studied a consecutive series of 65 patients
self-referred for evaluation of panic attacks, who were examined for
cardiac and thyroid abnormalities. Fifty percent of the patients had mitral
valve prolapse according to both cardiac auscultation and echocardiography.
Twenty-six percent of the women had some thyroid abnormality; 17% had
thyroid microsomal antibodies. There was no apparent relationship between
mitral valve prolapse and thyroid abnormalities. These observations suggest
that panic attacks, mitral valve prolapse, and autoimmune thyroid disorders
are associated.
