Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
close window
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
Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffSeveral factors can increase your risk of mitral valve regurgitation, including:
- A history of mitral valve prolapse or mitral valve stenosis. However, having either condition doesn't necessarily mean you'll develop mitral valve regurgitation. In fact, most people with mitral valve prolapse never develop severe regurgitation.
- A past heart attack. A heart attack can damage your heart, affecting the function of the mitral valve.
- Use of certain medications. People who take ergotamine and similar medicines for migraines and those who took pergolide (now removed from the market) have an increased risk of mitral regurgitation. Similar problems were noted with the appetite suppressants fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine, which are no longer sold.
- Infections such as endocarditis or rheumatic fever. Infections can damage the mitral valve.
- Congenital heart disease. Some people are born with an abnormal mitral valve prone to regurgitation. Often babies born with heart defects may have more than one problem, such as a hole in the upper chambers of the heart (atrial septal defect) and an abnormal mitral valve.
- Age. By middle age, many people have some mitral valve regurgitation caused by natural deterioration of the valve. However, mitral valve regurgitation causes symptoms in only a small percentage of older adults.
References
- 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