Once a mitral valve prolapse has been diagnosed, how is this heart condition treated? Doctors have a number of options for people who have been diagnosed with this common condition.

In many cases, a person who has been diagnosed with a mitral valve prolapse doesn’t need any specific treatment. This is generally the case in situations where the patient isn’t exhibiting any symptoms of the condition.

Medications

Medications may be used to treat the chest pain and heart palpitations associated with mitral valve prolapse. When blood clots and the risk of stroke are a concern, the doctor may recommend taking Aspirin. Beta blockers are another option, since these drugs make the heart beat more slowly and with less force. Blood pressure is lowered as a result, and the blood vessels become more relaxed and open up.

Blood thinners may also be considered to treat mitral valve prolapse. Patients who are being prescribed these medications should ask about potential side effects and take them as directed by their doctor.

Surgery

Since severe cases of mitral valve prolapse can lead to heart failure, surgery may be recommended as a treatment option. The affected heart valves can be repaired, which will improve their functioning. In more severe cases, they may need to be replaced.

Damaged heart valves can be replaced with prosthetic ones.

Two types are available: Mechanical and Tissue. Mechanical replacement heart valves will perform well for some time, but patients with this type of device must take medications to prevent blood clots from forming on the valve. If a blood clot forms and then detaches, it could travel through the body to the brain, causing a stroke.

As the name implies, tissue heart valves are fashioned out of animal tissue. Heart valves from pigs can be used in humans. They do wear down over time, and may need to be replaced at some point. The advantage to choosing tissue heart valves is that the patient doesn’t need to take anticoagulant medications to guard against blood clots following the heart surgery.

A mitral valve prolapse is also known as “click murmur syndrome.” It occurs when the mitral valve leaflets, the flaps that are in between the left atrium and ventricle of the heart, are enlarged. Instead of closing tightly, the malformed mitral valve flops back into the atrium.

In some cases, the mitral valve prolapse allows blood to leak from the ventricle back into the atrium. When this relatively common heart defect (affecting between 5-10 percent of the population worldwide) becomes severe enough, it can cause heart failure.

Diagnosing Mitral Valve Prolapse

A doctor may suspect mitral valve prolapse if he or she hears a clicking sound after the ventricle contracts while examining a patient with a stethoscope. The doctor will also be listening for a “whooshing” sound after the clicking sound.

When mitral valve prolapse is suspected, an echocardiography, or ultrasound of the heart, is usually ordered. The images generated during the test can give doctors valuable information about the severity of the prolapse and whether blood is leaking back into the atrium. The test is also used to provide doctors with valuable information about whether the heart muscle is functioning normally in the circumstances.

Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) is a heart defect that affects between 2-3 percent of the population. This condition is usually diagnosed in young adults between 20-40 years of age.

The Mitral Valve is one of the four located in the heart. As the heart beats, the valves open and close to let blood flow from the atrium down to the ventricle. Each Mitral Valve has two flaps.

An MVP can occur when one or both of the flaps is too large or when the chordae tendinea (strings that attach the underside of the flaps to the ventricular wall) are too long. The valve doesn’t close completely when the heart beats.

As a result, the valve “prolapses” or bulges backward when the heart is beating. This causes some blood to leak back into the atrium from the ventricle. The heart beats normally when someone has an MVP.