Mitral Valve Prolapse

What is mitral valve prolapse?

Mitral valve prolapse is a bulging of the mitral valve when the heart contracts (squeezes). The heart is divided into 4 chambers. These chambers fill with blood, which is then pumped throughout the body to supply nourishment. Four valves open and close to assist this pumping action. This allows the blood to move in a forward direction. The mitral valve is a heart valve made of 2 tissue flaps, called leaflets, which open and close. It is located between the upper chamber (atrium) and lower chamber (ventricle) on the left side of the heart.

A deformity in the mitral valve can keep the leaflets from closing well. Sometimes it allows small amounts of blood to flow backward in your heart. Most of the time, however, mitral valve prolapse causes no symptoms and no problems.

How does it occur?

In mitral valve prolapse one or both of the leaflets bulge backwards (prolapse) into the upper left chamber (atrium) of the heart. Often it is not known why or how this occurs. More than 5% of people have mitral valve prolapse. It is common in adults with otherwise normal hearts. It also occurs in people with rare, inherited diseases of connective tissue, such as Marfan syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Their skin and other body tissues are abnormally elastic.

What are the symptoms?

Most people have no symptoms. However, sometimes you may have brief periods of rapid heartbeat or skipped beats.

You may notice symptoms more when you are physically active, for example, exercising.

How is it diagnosed?

Often mitral valve prolapse is discovered during a routine physical exam, when your health care provider listens to your heart with a stethoscope. When your heart muscle contracts, stretched valve leaflets create a "click" sound that your health care provider can hear. If the valve leaks, your provider can hear a murmur. Your provider may ask you to stand, sit, lie down, or squat during your exam so he or she can better hear the faint sounds.

An echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound of the heart, is the best way to diagnose mitral valve prolapse. The picture made by the sound waves shows the prolapse, any thickening of the valve leaflets, and any leakage of blood through the prolapsed valve. An echocardiogram can show if you have badly thickened and stretched valve leaflets, which may mean you have a higher risk of serious problems.

What is the treatment?

Most people with mitral valve prolapse don't need treatment because the prolapse is not causing any serious problems.

The heart rhythm abnormalities in mitral valve prolapse sometimes become very uncomfortable. Drugs such as beta blockers may be very helpful.

Prolapsed heart valves can become infected more easily than normal valves. Infection speeds up the valve damage and may worsen symptoms. Your provider may prescribe antibiotics before dental care or surgical procedures to reduce this risk.

How long will the effects last?

You may continue to have abnormal heart rhythms. Most of these arrhythmias are of no concern.

Rarely, the leakage is severe enough to cause more serious heart problems. More blood may leak backward through the valve. This leakage is called mitral regurgitation. It usually gets worse with time and is more common in men and in people with high blood pressure. The leakage may become bad enough to require heart valve replacement surgery, but this is unusual. If you have mitral valve prolapse with significant mitral regurgitation, you have a slightly higher risk of stroke.

How can I take care of myself?

• Check with your health care provider if your symptoms worsen.
• Tell your dentist and other health care providers that you have mitral valve prolapse so you can make sure that you take antibiotics when you need them to prevent infection of the valve.
• If you have high blood pressure, make sure you follow your health care provider's treatment plan for it.
• Talk with your provider about how much and what kind of exercise is right for you.