Rheumatic "Activity" as Judged by the Presence of Aschoff Bodies in Auricular Appendages of Patients with Mitral Stenosis

Abstract

Clinical data have been correlated with heart muscle biopsy findings in 183 patients undergoing operation for mitral stenosis. It was not possible to relate the finding of Aschoff lesions to the usual clinical or laboratory evidences of rheumatic carditis, although older patients and those exhibiting auricular fibrillation were least likely to be histologically "active." The possible significance of these findings is discussed.