User:Mr. Ibrahem/Mitral insufficiency

Mitral insufficiency, also known as mitral regurgitation (MR), is a type of valvular heart disease in which there is backward flow of blood from the left ventricle, through the mitral valve, into the left atrium, when the heart contracts. It may be sudden or gradual in onset. Cases of sudden onset may present with severe shortness of breath and low blood pressure. Cases of gradual onset may have few symptoms, though may develop shortness of breath, palpitations, chest pain, or leg swelling. Complications can include heart failure.

Cases of sudden onset may occur due to infectious endocarditis or rupture of the papillary muscle as a result of a heart attack, trauma, or Marfan's syndrome. Cases of gradual onset may occur due to degenerative changes with mitral valve prolapse, rheumatic heart disease, infectious endocarditis, cardiomyopathy, heart failure, or atrial fibrillation. Diagnosis may be suspected based on a systolic murmur and confirmed by echocardiography.

Cases of sudden onset generally require urgent surgery. Some may require vasopressors, an intra-aortic balloon pump, and mechanical ventilation to stabilize them before surgery. For cases of gradual onset, only if it becomes severe is surgery potentially recommended. The type of surgery may be an mitral valve replacement or an mitral valve repair. Outcomes are variable.

Globally about 175 million people are affected. It affects less than 1% of people under 45 and 11% of people over 75 years old. The chronic form is more common than the acute form. It is the most common form of valvular heart disease. The murmur of mitral insufficiency was first described in 1818 by Rene T. Laennec. Surgery for the mitral valve became available in the late 1950s and early 1960s.