Mitral Valve Prolapse: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments, and Natural Approaches

Characterized by a floppy heart valve, mitral valve prolapse is one of the most common heart valve problems, affecting up to 3 percent of Americans.

Older men are more likely to experience severe mitral valve prolapse than women, even though it is more common in females. Illustration by Fei Meng

Mitral valve prolapse is a heart disorder where the mitral valve leaflets have extra tissue or become stretched and bulge (or prolapse) into the left atrium. The condition can be asymptomatic in some cases, but if it progresses and the floppy valve no longer closes properly, it can result in damage to the heart muscle, stroke, or even sudden cardiac death.

Other names used to describe mitral valve prolapse include the following:

• Barlow syndrome
• Billowing mitral valve syndrome
• Click-murmur syndrome
• Floppy valve syndrome
• Mitral prolapse
• Myxomatous mitral valve disease

Mitral valve prolapse is one of the most common heart valve problems and affects 2 percent to 3 percent of the U.S. population.