EHLERS-DANLOS SYNDROME AND CONGENITAL HEART ANOMALIES

Two sisters With Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, inherited as an autosomal rec essive trait, and congenital heart disease are herein reported. One wa s a 20-year-old woman with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and multiple aphthou s stomatitis, bronchial asthma, an emphysematous lung, a ventricular s eptal defect and a bilateral inguinal hernia due to hyperextensibility and joint hypermobility. The other was a 17-year-old girl with the sa me syndrome and an atrial septal defect, a ventricular septal defect a nd patent ductus arteriosus. The combination of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and congenital heart anomalies in these siblings suggest a common gen etic defect to be the cause of these diseases.