Mitral Valve Prolapse

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Mitral Valve Prolapse Diagnosis & Tests

The doctor may feel a thrill (vibration) over the heart. Using a stethoscope, the doctor may hear a distinctive murmur or other abnormal sounds. (The murmur is described as a mid-systolic click and is sometimes followed by a late systolic murmur. This means a click sound is heard midway in the "beating" part of the heartbeat cycle, followed by a murmur near the end of this time.) The murmur is worse when standing. Blood pressure is usually normal.

Mitral valve prolapse and associated regurgitation may show on:

• Echocardiogram (an ultrasound examination of the heart)
• Color-flow Doppler examination
• Cardiac catheterization
• Chest X-rays (will show fluid in the lungs or an enlarged left atrium if severe mitral regurgitation is present)
• ECG (may show arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation)
• Other tests, including chest MRI, radionuclide scans, or CT scan of the chest