• Home

Home > Medical Reference > Encyclopedia (English)

Toggle: English / Spanish

Mitral valve prolapse

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Barlow's syndrome; Floppy mitral valve; Myxomatous mitral valve; Billowing mitral valve; Systolic click-murmur syndrome; Prolapsing mitral leaflet syndrome

Prevention:

You can't usually prevent mitral valve prolapse, but you can prevent certain complications. Tell your health care providers, including your dentist, if you have a history of heart disease or heart valve problems.

Antibiotics are often used to prevent infection, instead of after one develops. This is called prophylactic treatment. If you have mitral valve prolapse with a leaky valve, you will be given antibiotics before dental work or other surgeries to prevent bacteria from getting into your blood and causing dangerous infections. Some health care providers recommend antibiotics if you have moderate to severe mitral valve prolapse and a "click" (murmur) heard with a stethoscope.

• Review Date: 7/17/2006
• Reviewed By: Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process . A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2007 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.