SUPRAVENTRICULAR MITRAL-STENOSIS IN AN IN FANT PRESENTING WITH SYNCOPE OF EFFORT

An infant with frequent upper airways infections presented syncopes du ring meals and weeping since the age of eleven months. Cardiac examina tion was always normal. At 14 months of age, an echocardiogram with co lour Doppler demonstrated a severly stenotic isolated supramitral memb rane with severe pulmonary hypertension. The membrane was immediately excised curing the malformation and suppressing definitively the synco pes, probably due to decreased cerebral blood flow during exertion. An echocardiogram should always be performed when syncopes remain unexpl ained in small children. It allows early diagnosis and treatment of co ngenital heart defects which do not have auscultatory findings especia lly those resulting in severe pulmonary venous obstruction.