Mitral valve

Looks like

A valve with two leaflets, tethered by cords to the muscle below, between the left atrium and left ventricle.

What it does

Lets blood into the main pumping chamber and seals it off when the ventricle squeezes at full pressure.

Keeping it well

Leakage and a floppy (prolapsing) valve are common and are followed with echocardiograms. Increasing breathlessness, waking at night gasping, or a new irregular heartbeat means it is time to reassess; repair is preferred to replacement when possible.

Its parts

• Anterior leaflet of mitral valve
• Posterior leaflet of mitral valve
• Fibrous ring of mitral valve

Related conditions

• 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (DiGeorge)
• Aortic stenosis
• Atrial flutter
• Cardiomyopathy (dilated, restrictive, arrhythmogenic)
• Chagas disease
• Congenital heart defects
• Coronary artery disease
• Diphtheria
• Down syndrome (trisomy 21)
• Eating disorders
• Extra heartbeats (ectopics and palpitations)
• Fainting (syncope)
• Friedreich's ataxia
• Heart failure
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
• Hypothermia & frostbite
• Infective endocarditis
• Kawasaki disease
• Long QT syndrome
• Metabolic syndrome
• Myocarditis
• Orthostatic hypotension & POTS
• Panic disorder
• Pericardial effusion & tamponade
• Pericarditis
• Peripheral artery disease
• Phaeochromocytoma & hyperaldosteronism
• Pre-eclampsia
• Raynaud's phenomenon
• Rheumatic fever & rheumatic heart disease
• Sepsis
• Shock (circulatory failure)
• Sudden cardiac arrest
• Sudden infant death syndrome
• Supraventricular tachycardia
• Takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy
• Tuberous sclerosis complex
• Valve disease (stenosis & regurgitation)
• Vasculitis (GCA & others)
• Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome