Mitral Valve Disease

The mitral valve is positioned in the heart’s left side, between the left upper chamber (left atrium) and the left lower chamber (left ventricle).

Heart disease can be caused by many different things and comes in many different forms. When the heart valve becomes diseased, one of two things happens: it doesn’t close tightly enough (called incompetence) to keep blood from backing up into the chamber from which it flowed; or, it doesn’t open widely enough (called stenosis) to allow adequate amounts of blood to flow into the chamber.

Mitral valve prolapse (which is also known as floppy valve syndrome) is a bulging of one or both valve leaflets. Mitral valve prolapse does not always require treatment, but it can lead to mitral incompetence (and, in fact, is its number one cause).

When blood flow is compromised, mild to severe symptoms can result. With today’s advanced medical technology, diseased valves can be repaired or replaced.