Matthew has an interesting, video request…

He writes, “Adam – Thanks for your book and blog. I’m 47 years old and in the ‘waiting room’ right now. I have a mitral valve prolapse ^[1] with moderate mitral regurg. My cardiologist thinks I may need surgery within the next 1-2 years. Curious to know if you have any echocardiograms that show a severe mitral valve prolapse with mitral regurgitation ^[2]? Thanks, Brian”

Sure thing Brian! Here is an echocardiogram of a mitral valve prolapse. Although the video has no sound, you can see a significant mixture of blue and red colors near the valve. (The colors in the echocardiogram indicate the motion of blood around the mitral valve.)

If you look even closer, you can see that the mitral valve in this echocardiogram has severe prolapse. You can see the failure of the mitral leaflets ^[3] to seal tightly. Plus, the rampant mixture of red and blue colors in the echocardiogram illustrates significant backward blood flow. Unfortunately for this patient, I believe this is a very diseased mitral valve that may require surgery.

I hope this echocardiogram of the mitral valve prolapse was helpful.

Keep on tickin!