Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffMitral valve regurgitation — or mitral regurgitation — happens when your heart's mitral valve doesn't close tightly, which allows blood to flow backward in your heart. When the mitral valve doesn't work properly, blood can't move through your heart or to the rest of your body as efficiently, making you feel tired or out of breath. Mitral valve regurgitation is also called mitral insufficiency or mitral incompetence.
Treatment of mitral valve regurgitation depends on how severe your condition is, whether it's getting worse, and signs and symptoms. For mild cases, treatment may not be necessary. You may need heart surgery to repair or replace the valve for more-severe cases. Left untreated, severe mitral valve regurgitation can cause heart failure or serious heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias).
- Gaasch WH. Overview of the management of chronic mitral regurgitation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 19, 2011.
- Otto CM. Etiology, clinical features, and evaluation of chronic mitral regurgitation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 19, 2011.
- Heart valve disease. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hvd/hvd_all.html. Accessed May 19, 2011.
- Heart valves. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4598. Accessed May 24, 2011.
- Bonow RO, et al. 2008 Focused update incorporated into the ACC/AHA 2006 guidelines for the management of patients with valvular heart disease: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines. 2008;118:523.
- Ferri FF. Mitral regurgitation. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2011. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?sid=1161209007&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..00022-6--s29555&isbn=978-0-323-05610-6&uniqId=247741773-5. Accessed May 19, 2011.
- Gaasch WH. Indications for and types of corrective surgery in severe chronic mitral valve regurgitation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 14, 2009.
- Schmitto JD, et al. Minimally invasive valve surgery. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2010;56:455.
- Lehr EJ, et al. Robotic cardiac surgery. Current Opinion in Anesthesiology. 2011;24:77.
- Nishimura RA. ACC/AHA guideline update on valvular heart disease: Focused update on infective endocarditis. Circulation. 2008;118:887.
Find Mayo Clinic on