Overview

Your heart is a muscular pump that has four chambers and four valves. Your mitral valve is like a one-way gate that regulates blood flow in your heart. It allows blood to flow in only one direction, from the upper to the lower heart chamber on the left side of the heart. Normally the mitral valve closes after blood flows through it. This keeps blood from leaking back into the upper chamber. In mitral valve prolapse, the flap of the valve bulges backward (prolapses) into the upper chamber.

In most cases, a prolapse does not cause a problem. This is because the seal between the two heart chambers remains tight enough to prevent a leak. Blood moves normally through the valve.

You will probably not need treatment for mitral valve prolapse. You may not have symptoms. But you have a risk for a problem called mitral valve regurgitation. With this problem, the flaps of the mitral valve do not seal tightly and blood leaks back into the upper chamber. Your doctor will likely check for signs of this problem at regular checkups.