Mitral valve prolapse rarely requires treatment
By DR. KOMOROFF Universal Uclick on Sep 11, 2013, at 2:22 AM Updated on 9/11/13 at 3:23 AM
Dr. K
Dear Doctor K: I have hypertension. Should I be monitoring my blood pressure at home?
Dear Doctor K: After my last mammogram, the doctor told me I have dense breasts. Does this increase my risk of cancer?
Dear Doctor K: I have mitral valve prolapse. What does this mean? And why don't I need treatment for it?
Dear Reader: The heart is made up of four chambers. The upper two chambers (the atria) fill with blood, then pump blood into the lower two chambers (the ventricles). Next, the ventricles pump blood to the rest of the body.
The mitral valve is the physical doorway between the heart's left atrium and left ventricle. The valve has two leaflets.
When it's working properly, the mitral valve opens to let blood flow "forward" - from the left atrium down into the left ventricle. The two leaflets drop down into the left ventricle. But when the left ventricle then pumps the blood out to the body, the mitral valve closes, to prevent blood from flowing "backward" up into the left atrium. The two leaflets are directly between the left atrium and left ventricle.
In mitral valve prolapse, however, a slight deformity of the mitral valve prevents the valve from closing normally. This appears as an abnormal floppiness, or prolapse, of the valve. When the left ventricle pumps, the two leaflets get pushed back up into the left atrium. (I've put an illustration of a prolapsed mitral valve on my website,
tulsaworld.com/DrK.)
The result is that small amounts of blood leak back into the left atrium. In most people it has very little effect on the heart's ability to pump blood.
In some people, however, the leak worsens to create a significant backward flow of blood into the left atrium. This is called mitral regurgitation. People with severe mitral regurgitation can develop shortness of breath, fatigue and leg swelling.
If you have mitral valve prolapse but do not have any symptoms, you will not need treatment. If mitral valve prolapse develops into severe mitral regurgitation, you may need to have the abnormal mitral valve surgically repaired or replaced.
Write Dr. K at
www.AskDoctorK.com or c/o Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106
Dr. K
Dear Doctor K: I have hypertension. Should I be monitoring my blood pressure at home?
Dear Doctor K: After my last mammogram, the doctor told me I have dense breasts. Does this increase my risk of cancer?
