Mitral
What is the mitral valve?
The mitral valve is one of the four valves in your heart. Heart valves have flaps that open and close. The flaps make sure that blood flows in the right direction through your heart and to the rest of your body. When your heart beats, the flaps open to let blood through. Between heartbeats they close to stop the blood from flowing backwards.
The mitral valve opens to let blood flow from your heart's upper left chamber to the lower left chamber. When the lower left chamber contracts (squeezes) to pump blood to your body, the mitral valve closes tightly to keep any blood from flowing backwards.
What is mitral valve prolapse (MVP)?Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) happens when the flaps of the mitral valve become floppy and don't close tightly. In some cases, blood may leak backwards through the valve to the chamber it came from. This is called backflow, or regurgitation. When there is a lot of mitral valve backflow, the heart can't push enough blood out to the body.
But most people who have MVP don't have any backflow. In fact, MVP doesn't cause any health problems for most people who have it.
Who is more likely to develop mitral valve prolapse (MVP)?Anyone can have MVP. Most people who have it were born with it. MVP tends to run in families, but researchers don't know the exact cause.
You may be more likely to develop MVP if you:
- Are older. The risk of MVP increases as aging affects the valve.
- Had rheumatic fever, a disease that can develop after a strep throat infection and cause damage to the heart valves.
- Were born with a connective tissue disorder, such as Marfan syndrome or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
- Have Graves' disease, a type of thyroid condition.
- Have scoliosis (a side-to-side curve of the spine) or other problems with the bones of your body.
- Have some types of muscular dystrophy.
Mitral valve prolapse with backflow is most common in men and people who have high blood pressure.
What are the symptoms of mitral valve prolapse (MVP)?Most people who have MVP don't have any symptoms. But if it does cause symptoms, they may include:
- Heart palpitations (feeling that your heart is fluttering, skipping beats, or beating too hard or too fast)
- Shortness of breath (feeling like you can't get enough air)
- A cough
- Fatigue, dizziness, or anxiety
- A migraine
- Chest pain
In rare cases, MVP can cause other problems. They're most often caused by backflow. They can include:
- Arrhythmia, a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat
- Endocarditis, an infection in the lining of the heart and heart valves
- Heart failure
Health care providers often find MVP during routine health check-ups. If you have MVP, your provider may hear a clicking sound when listening to your heart with a stethoscope. If blood flows backwards through the valve, your heart may also make a whooshing sound called a heart murmur.
You may also need certain heart tests. The most useful test is an echocardiogram, or echo. This is a type of ultrasound that uses sound waves to make a moving picture of your heart.
What are the treatments for mitral valve prolapse (MVP)?Most people don't need any treatment for MVP. If you have symptoms with little or no backflow, you may only need medicine to relieve your discomfort.
If the amount of backflow is significant, you may need treatment to prevent other heart problems from developing. Treatments may include:
- Medicines to help your heart work better.
- Heart surgery to repair or replace a very abnormal mitral valve with backflow. The goal of surgery is to improve your symptoms and reduce your risk of developing heart failure.
When possible, valve repair is generally preferred over replacement. That's because repairs are less likely to weaken the heart muscle, and they're less likely to cause heart infection.
Can mitral valve prolapse be prevented?You can't prevent mitral valve prolapse. But if you have mitral valve prolapse, you can help prevent the rare but serious problems it can cause by:
- Brushing and flossing your teeth regularly. That helps keep bacteria out of your bloodstream, which further reduces the rare risk of a heart infection.
- Asking your provider if you need to take antibiotics before dental work or surgery to lower your risk of heart infection. This mostly applies to people who have had valve repair or replacement surgery.
- Getting regular check-ups and taking any medicines that your provider may have prescribed.
- Making heart-healthy habits part of your life to prevent heart disease.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Felter's Materia Medica on Mitral
The root of Apocynum cannabinum, Linné (Nat. Ord. Apocynaceae) gathered in autumn after the leaves and fruit have matured. Grows throughout the... / ...often and too long continued; passive hemorrhages, small in amount and associated with pedal edema; mitral and tricuspid regurgitation, with rapid and weak heart action, low arterial tension, difficul... / ...may be looked for. Under these circumstances we have removed enormous dropsical swellings with it, giving quick relief from dyspnea and1
The fresh, green stems and the flowers of Selenicereus grandiflorus (L.) Britt. & Rose (and other Selenicereus speciesMM) (Cereus grandiflorus,... / ...f plants which do not possess unusually powerful properties, consider cactus as a valuable agent in mitral regurgitation, due to valvular lesions. In our school, however, let us repeat, it is recogniz... / ...organ were held with a strong band, it is often the most prompt of all cardiac remedies. It is a good remedy in the heart troubles produced by to1
The fresh root and plant of Collinsonia canadensis, Linné (Nat. Ord. Labiatae.) Damp and rich soils of woods from Canada to Florida. Common... / ...ses of asthma, chronic cough, and the cough attendant upon disorders of the heart. Some value it in mitral regurgitation and in rheumatism of the heart. In all conditions the dilated capillaries showi... / ...disorder collinsonia is helpful, there is always a sense of weight and constriction, venous engorgement, dilated capillaries, and muscular atony.1
.... Dose, 1 to 10 drops. Specific Indications.Cardiac irregularities due to mechanical impediments; mitral insufficiency; feeble circulation and low arterial tension; dropsy of cardiac origin; palpita......c degeneration, but rather those of an obstructive character, due to mechanical causes, as when the mitral valves are involved. Thus it is especially valuable in mitral insufficiency, with its attenda......itis, using it in fractional doses. Convallaria is of less service in stenosis of the aorta than in mitral disorders.1
The ripe fruit and bark of (1) Crataegus Oxyacantha, Linné, and (2) other species of Crataegus. (Nat. Ord. Rosaceae) 1. England and other parts... / ...on, or other difficult breathing, especially when associated with nerve depression or neurasthenia; mitral regurgitation, with valvular insufficiency; cardiac pain; praecordial oppression; dyspnea; r... / ...trial; and as yet with no rational explanation of its reputed powers. The smaller doses are suggested as more likely to succeed than full doses.1
The dried ripe seeds of Strophanthus Kombé, Oliver, or of Strophanthus hispidus, DeCandolle, deprived of their long awns (Nat. Ord. Apocynaceae). West... / ...n is not sufficient to offset the valvular insufficiency. It has been reported useful in cases of mitral regurgitation with dilatation; mitral stenosis with regurgitation; regurgitation wi1