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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staff
Although most people with mitral valve prolapse never have problems, complications can occur. Complications tend to occur in middle-aged or older adults. They may include:
- Mitral valve regurgitation. The most common complication is mitral valve regurgitation (mitral insufficiency) — a condition in which the valve leaks blood back into the left atrium. Having high blood pressure or being overweight increases your risk of mitral valve regurgitation. If the regurgitation is severe, you may need surgery to repair or even replace the valve in order to prevent the development of complications, such as heart failure.
- Heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias). Irregular heart rhythms can occur in people with mitral valve prolapse. These most commonly occur in the upper chambers of the heart, and while they may be bothersome, they aren't usually life-threatening. People with severe mitral valve regurgitation, or severe deformity of their mitral valve, are most susceptible to serious rhythm problems, which affect blood flow through the heart.
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Heart valve infection (endocarditis). The inside of your heart contains four chambers and four valves lined by a thin membrane called the endocardium. Endocarditis is an infection of this inner lining. An abnormal mitral valve increases your chance of getting endocarditis from bacteria, which can further damage the mitral valve.
Doctors used to recommend that some people with mitral valve prolapse take antibiotics before certain dental or medical procedures to prevent endocarditis, but not anymore. The American Heart Association advises that antibiotics aren't necessary in most cases for someone with mitral valve regurgitation or mitral valve prolapse.
- Sorrentino MJ. Definition and diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 28, 2011.
- Mitral valve and mitral valve prolapse. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4717. Accessed Jan. 31, 2011.
- Mitral valve prolapse. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/mvp/mvp_all.html. Accessed Jan. 31, 2011.
- Taub CC, et al. Mitral valve prolapse in Marfan syndrome: An old topic revisited. Echocardiography. 2008;e[#]. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121536695/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0. Accessed Jan. 28, 2011.
- Sorrentino MJ. Arrhythmic complications of mitral valve prolapse. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 28, 2011.
- Sorrentino MJ. Nonarrhythmic complications of mitral valve prolapse. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 28, 2011.
- Nishimura RA. ACC/AHA guideline update on valvular heart disease: Focused update on infective endocarditis. Circulation. 2008;118:887.
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