Complaints

For a long time a protrusion of the mitral sail does not cause any complaints. Especially if the bulge is not yet so strong that the blood flow is impaired, patients usually do not notice the valve damage. However, as soon as the mitral leaflet is bulged so far that it reaches directly into the bloodstream or a firm closure of the valve is no longer possible, the blood may reflux strongly, which then leads to a reduced ejection rate of the heart.Especially in cases of severe mitral valve insufficiency (inability to close the valve), which can result from a valve prolapse, the heart may not be able to expel enough blood.

This then results in an increasing undersupply of blood to the body. First of all, the heart itself would become undersupplied, which the person affected would notice by an irregular pulse. A stumbling or cardiac arrest could also be an indication of severe valve damage.

Furthermore, in advanced valve insufficiency, the patient would also suffer from circulatory problems, such as dizziness, and would no longer be able to carry out familiar tasks, such as climbing stairs, without further ado. Ear noise, shortness of breath and leg edema may also occur. If a mitral valve prolapse is not treated at this stage, severe heart failure may also occur.

This condition is caused by the blood flowing back through the mitral valve, but the heart tries with all its might to eject this blood despite the valve not closing properly. Over time, the heart enlarges for this reason, in order to perform the heavy work of pumping. The size of the heart takes on unnatural dimensions, which makes the heart walls thinner and the heart weaker. Advanced heart failure leads to cardiac exhaustion, reduced performance and eventually death. Heart failure due to valve damage should be avoided at all costs, despite the ever-improving drugs.

Pain

A mitral valve prolapse is usually only noticed when the severity of the valve defect already impairs the blood flow and ejection performance of the heart. In this case a variety of symptoms are triggered, ranging from general physical weakness to dizziness and shortness of breath. Heart pain is not usually triggered by a mitral valve prolapse. Although an unpleasant heart stumbling can be triggered, any pain in the chest or heart area that may arise in this context is in most cases caused by resulting muscular cramps. Heart pain caused by an undersupply of the heart due to valve damage would only occur if the valve insufficiency was so severe that even the heart would receive so little oxygen-rich blood and heart muscle cells would die.