heart valve surgery

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a valvular heart disease characterized by the displacement of an abnormally thickened mitral valve leaflet into the left atrium during systole.[1] There are various types of MVP, broadly classified as classic and nonclassic. In its nonclassic form, MVP carries a low risk of complications. In severe cases of classic MVP, complications include mitral regurgitation, infective endocarditis, congestive heart failure, and—in rare circumstances—cardiac arrest, usually resulting in sudden death.

The diagnosis of MVP depends upon echocardiography, which uses ultrasound to visualize the mitral valve. Early studies estimated a prevalence of 38% among healthy teenagers; with improved echocardiographic techniques and clear diagnostic criteria, the true prevalence of MVP is estimated at 2-3% of the population.


Mitral valve prolapse (also known as "click murmur syndrome" and "Barlow's syndrome") is the most common heart valve surgery abnormality, affecting five to ten percent of the world population. A normal mitral valve consists of two thin leaflets, located between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart. Mitral valve leaflets, shaped like parachutes, are attached to the inner wall of the left ventricle by a series of strings called "chordae." When the ventricles contract, the mitral valve leaflets close snugly and prevent the backflow of blood from the left ventricle into the left atrium. When the ventricles relax, the valves open to allow oxygenated blood from the lungs to fill the left ventricle.

In patients with mitral valve prolapse, the mitral apparatus (valve leaflets and chordae) becomes affected by a process called myxomatous degeneration. In myxomatous degeneration, the structural protein collagen forms abnormally and causes thickening, enlargement, and redundancy of the leaflets and chordae. When the ventricles contract, the redundant leaflets prolapse (flop backwards) into the left atrium, sometimes allowing leakage of blood through the valve opening (mitral regurgitation). When severe, mitral regurgitation can lead to heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms. Most patients are totally unaware of the prolapsing of the mitral valve. Others may experience a number of symptoms discussed below.

The mitral valve prolapse (MVP) syndrome has a strong hereditary tendency, although the exact cause is unknown. Affected family members are often tall, thin, with long arms and fingers, and straight backs. It is seen most commonly in women from 20 to 40 years old, but also occurs in men.

Prolapsed mitral valves are classified into several subtypes, based on leaflet thickness, concavity, and type of connection to the mitral annulus. Subtypes can be described as classic, nonclassic, symmetric, asymmetric, flail, or non-flail.
MVP may occur with greater frequency in individuals with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Marfan syndrome or polycystic kidney disease.[10] Other risk factors include Graves' disease.[11] and chest wall deformities such as Pectus Excavatum


Mitral Valve Prolapse Causes from posterous

For most people, the cause for mitral valve prolapse is unknown.

* Some people may inherit the condition, especially those associated with connective tissue disorders like Marfan's syndrome. Marfan's syndrome is an inherited disorder of connective tissue that causes abnormally long limbs, loose joints, and bulges (aneurysms) in the aorta, the main artery from the heart.

* Up to 40% of people have dysautonomia, an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system. This is the part of the nervous system that controls involuntary body functions such as breathing and the beating of the heart. This may lead to a large number of symptoms that seem serious to the person with the symptoms but are usually not serious

Mitral Valve and Mitral Valve Prolapse

The mitral (MI'tral) valve is between the heart's left atrium (upper, holding chamber) and left ventricle (lower, pumping chamber). The mitral valve has two flaps, or cusps.

What is mitral valve prolapse (MVP)?

In MVP, one or both valve flaps are enlarged, and some of their supporting "strings" may be too long. When the heart pumps (contracts), the mitral valve flaps don't close smoothly or evenly. Instead, part of one or both flaps collapses backward into the left atrium. This sometimes lets a small amount of blood leak backward through the valve. This may cause a heart murmur.

Mitral valve prolapse is also known as click-murmur syndrome, Barlow's syndrome, balloon mitral valve and floppy valve syndrome.