The mitral valve is a heart valve that lies between the left atrium and left ventricle. The valve opens and closes to ensure that blood flows in only one direction. In mitral regurgitation, the valve does not close completely and blood leaks backward (regurgitates) inside your heart. The more open the valve remains, the more blood regurgitates and the more severe the problem.
Symptoms
Mitral regurgitation (MR) places an extra burden on the heart and lungs, and your heart may have to work harder to function normally. In some cases, you may have MR but not experience any symptoms. In other cases you may experience:
- Fatigue, inability to exercise
- Shortness of Breath
- Rapid heart beat
- Fainting
- Swollen feet or ankles
- Dry hacking cough (worse when laying down)
Treatment Options
Treatment often depends on the severity of your symptoms.
- Medications may help manage mitral regurgitation symptoms but do not fix the underlying mitral valve problem.
- Surgery your mitral valve may need to be repaired or replaced, which is usually performed through open-heart surgery
- Transcatheter mitral valve repair (Mitral Clip) if your doctor determines that open-heart mitral valve surgery is not an option for you—due to your age, advanced heart failure, or other serious medical conditions—you may be eligible for a less-invasive treatment option called transcatheter mitral valve repair.