An Evolution of Mitral Valve Prolapse for Heart Surgery

The heart itself is a muscle with the responsibility of pumping blood throughout the body via an arrangement of interconnecting arteries, veins and heart valves referred to as the cardiovascular system. However, to completely understand mitral valve prolapse, one must first understand how the heart functions.

There are four chambers in the heart the right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium and left ventricle. Dividing the right chambers is the tricuspid valve whereas the mitral valve divides the left chambers. Oxygen poor blood flows from the body into the right atrium. The tricuspid valve opens in response to the heart beating and allows the blood from the right atrium to empty into the right ventricle. Then this blood is sent to the lungs for oxygenation. The oxygenated blood flows into the left atrium and then passes through the mitral valve into the left ventricle.

The left ventricle is the strongest chamber in the heart because it is required to push the blood volume through the body. And in return, places increase pressure on the gate between the left atrium and left ventricle, the mitral valve. This valve looks somewhat similar to an open parachute when closed. mitral valve prolapse occurs when this parachute like closing begins to bulge into the left atrium. While this in itself is not dangerous, it can and most often does lead to mitral valve regurgitation. This condition is when blood that is to be pumped from the left ventricle out into the body is forced backwards through a partially open mitral valve into the left atrium.

Also see: heart valve replacement

If this condition that initially started as mitral valve prolapse and turned into mitral valve regurgitation becomes severe, a multitude of problems can occur. If the regurgitation is great enough, there will be an increased amount of blood in the left atrium that can extend into the lungs. Besides, the left ventricle is under pressure to function forcefully, which leads to its enlargement and subsequently leads to heart failure. As with most medical events, prevention or at least early detection is the key.

The cause of this dysfunction is due to physical changes in the valve itself like thickening or a distorted shape. But, what leads to this condition is not known and may be hereditary too.. While diagnosis is important, the difficult part is that many people do not experience symptoms related to mitral valve prolapse. In most cases, it will be detected when a regular physical exam is done in a physician’s office. He or she will note a ‘murmur’ when listening to your heart that may alert him or her to a problem. In case it is so, an echocardiogram would be prescribed to ascertain the suspicions. With the confirmation of a mitral valve prolapse, treatment may only be scheduled follow-ups to check the progress or lack of in the prolapse.