Summary
Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a valvular heart disease characterized by the displacement of an abnormally thickened mitral valve leaflet into the left atrium during systole. It is the primary form of myxomatous degeneration of the valve. There are various types of MVP, broadly classified as classic and nonclassic. In severe cases of classic MVP, complications include mitral regurgitation, infective endocarditis, congestive heart failure, and, in rare circumstances, cardiac arrest. The diagnosis of MVP depends upon echocardiography, which uses ultrasound to visualize the mitral valve. MVP is the most common valvular abnormality and is estimated to affect 2–3% of the population and 1 in 40 people might have it. The condition was first described by John Brereton Barlow in 1966. It was subsequently termed mitral valve prolapse by J. Michael Criley. Although mid-systolic click (sound of prolapsing mitral leaflet) and systolic murmur have been noticed earlier with stethoscope in 1887 by physicians M. Cuffer and M. Barbillon. Upon auscultation of an individual with mitral valve prolapse, a mid-systolic click, followed by a late systolic murmur heard best at the apex, is common. The length of the murmur signifies the time period over which blood is leaking back into the left atrium, known as regurgitation. A murmur that lasts throughout the whole of systole is known as a holo-systolic murmur. A murmur that is mid to late systolic, although typically associated with less regurgitation, can still be associated with significant hemodynamic consequences. In contrast to most other heart murmurs, the murmur of mitral valve prolapse is accentuated by standing and Valsalva maneuver (earlier systolic click and longer murmur) and diminished with squatting (later systolic click and shorter murmur). The only other heart murmur that follows this pattern is the murmur of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. An MVP murmur can be distinguished from a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy murmur by the presence of a mid-systolic click which is virtually diagnostic of MVP.
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