Mitral Valve Prolapse

The Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP), also known as the click-murmur syndrome is a condition of the heart that causes the extra tissue on top of the mitral valve's flaps (leaflets) to bulge (prolapse) into the upper left heart chamber (left atrium), thus pushing the pumped blood back in (also known as Mitral Valve Regurgitation – MVR). In the cases where unnoticeable amounts of blood are leaking back, the sufferer will not feel any symptoms at all, and will only learn about the disease during a check-up.   However, in the cases where MVP is more severe, the afflicted will experience shortness of breath, dizziness, and fatigue. The constant prolapse produces a distinct clicking sound (leaflet billowing) followed by a murmur (blood back-leak) that a doctor can hear using a stethoscope, which gave this condition its other name. Severe MVP tends to cause a number of cardiac symptoms, including heavy MVR, arrhythmia, and endocarditis. If the condition is grave and untreated, it will most likely result in eventual heart failure.   The treatment of MVP mostly relates to surgery, while antibiotics and a number of smaller medical procedures are sometimes enough to keep the condition from progressing to a fatal state.