Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment on MedicineNet.com

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Mitral Valve Prolapse
(MVP)

Heart Disease (Coronary Artery Disease) Slideshow

Revising Medical Author: Daniel Kulick, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Revising Medical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Featured mitral vavle prolapse patient discussions on symptoms and signs experienced

"I feel good sometimes but, when I suffer from mitral valve prolapse (MVP) symptoms they are usually, excessive sweating, chest pain, shortness of breath, and fatigue. The pain usually starts right behind my scar from my open heart surgery. After the tension in my chest has passed, I can gain a sense of my whereabouts. I have a hard time with my vision during these episodes. I experience these symptoms two to three times a week."

"I am in Bermuda. I also have MVP. I was told last year when I did a full physical. But before that, I was having complications such as coughing and sharp pinches around the heart and sternum and also an irregular heartbeat. Almost a year has passed since I was told of MVP, and things have gotten somewhat worse. Today, I am getting fatigued, my eyes look tired and red a lot, and I�m still coughing and having more and more pinches in the chest. My breathing is getting worse when I sit or lie down. My doctor told me if the breathing gets worse to go to the emergency room. I am 39 years old."

"I am fatigued most of the time (I also have hypothyroidism). When I am especially worn out, I feel "stress" in my chest near my heart. It's not really pain, more of an ache. If I lay down a while it goes away. I sometimes feel depressed or suffer from panic attacks. Lately I've been experiencing vertigo (not sure if this is part of the MVP). I tend to get headaches frequently also."

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Patient Discussions are not a substitute for professional medical advice, or treatment.
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What is mitral valve prolapse?

Mitral valve prolapse (also known as "click murmur syndrome" and "Barlow's syndrome") is the most common heart valve 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.