Mitral valve prolapse

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Overview	Symptoms	Treatment	Prevention

Mitral valve prolapse

Alternative Names

Barlow's syndrome; Floppy mitral valve; Myxomatous mitral valve; Billowing mitral valve; Systolic click-murmur syndrome; Prolapsing mitral leaflet syndrome

Symptoms

Sensation of feeling the heart beat (palpitations)
Chest pain (not caused by coronary artery disease or a heart attack)
Hard to breath after activity
Fatigue
Cough
Shortness of breath when lying flat (orthopnea)

Note: There may be no symptoms or symptoms may develop slowly.

Exams and Tests

The doctor will perform a physical exam and use a stethoscope to listen to your heart and lungs. The doctor may feel a thrill (vibration) over the heart, and hear a heart murmur ("mid-systolic click"). The murmur gets louder when you stand up.

Blood pressure is usually normal.

The following tests may be used to diagnose mitral valve prolapse pr a leaky mitral valve:

Echocardiogram
Color-flow Doppler examination
Cardiac catheterization
Chest x-ray
ECG (may show arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation)
Chest MRI
CT scan of the chest

References

American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association: ACC/AHA 2006 guidelines for the management of patients with valvular heart disease. A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (writing committee to revise the 1998 guidelines for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease). J Am Coll Cardiol. 2006; 48:1-148.

Salem DN, Stein PD, Al-Ahmad A, et al. Antithrombotic therapy in valvular heart disease -- native and prosthetic: the Seventh ACCP Conference on Antithrombotic and Thrombolytic Therapy. Chest. 2004 Sep;126(3 Suppl):457S-82S.


Heart, section through the middle


Mitral valve prolapse


Heart valve surgery - series

Review Date: 8/21/2007
Reviewed By: A.D.A.M. Editorial Team: Greg Juhn, M.T.P.W., David R. Eltz, Kelli A. Stacy. Previously reviewed by Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network (7/17/2006).

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