Mitral Valve Prolapse - Symptoms & Treatment

Mitral valve prolapse is a heart valve condition marked by the dislocation of an abnormally inspissated mitral valve leaflet into the left atrium during systole. In its non-classic form, MVP carries a low risk of complexities. Mitral valve prolapse affects somewhat more than 2 percent of the adult population in the United States. The cause is verbosity of the valve tissue often from myxomatous degeneration, a hereditary connective tissue disorder that causes weakness in the tissue of the valve. It causes severe heart problems only if the regurgitation becomes severe, infection of the valve occurs, or myxomatous tissue fissures. The mitral valve, so named due to its similitude to a bishop 's miter, is the heart valve that prevents the backflow of blood from the left ventricle into the left atrium.

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a disorder which affects one of your heart's valves the mitral valve. It occurs when the valve doesn't close properly, allowing backward leaking of blood in your heart. It is situated between the left atrium of the heart, that receives fresh, oxygenated blood from the lungs, and the left ventricle, that pumps the blood out to the body. The mitral valve regulates the flow of blood between 2 chambers (or "rooms") of your heart called the left atrium and the left ventricle. Normally, blood flows in one direction only, from the atrium to the ventricle. When the heart relaxes in between beats, the 2 flaps of the mitral valve swing open to let blood flow from the atrium to the ventricle. The flaps normally open only one way.