Mitral Annular Disjunction Linked to Increased Risk for Ventricular Arrhythmias After Surgery

WEDNESDAY, April 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and mitral regurgitation (MR), mitral annular disjunction (MAD) is associated with an increased long-term risk for ventricular arrhythmias (VA), regardless of repair/replacement, according to a study published online April 15 in the European Heart Journal.Klara Lodin, from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues examined the long-term risk for VA in patients with MAD and MVP undergoing mitral valve surgery for MR. A total of 599 patients underwent mitral valve surgery of whom 96 (16 percent) had preoperative MAD.The median MAD length was 8.0 mm. The researchers found that patients with MAD were younger than those without, were more often women (31 versus 17 percent), and had more Barlow disease (70 versus 27 percent). In all patients, MAD was surgically corrected. Patients with preoperative MAD had a higher risk for VA during a median follow-up of 5.4 years, regardless of repair/replacement (hazard ratio adjusted for age and sex, 3.33)."These findings highlight the importance of close monitoring for MR progression among the subset of patients with MVP with MAD to offer a timely intervention," the authors write. "Our results also show that the risk of VA in MVP/MAD does not necessarily decrease after successful mitral valve surgery and emphasize the need for continued monitoring, and management of VA after surgery."Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter