Mitral valve replacement Mitral valve replacement Mitral valve replacement is a cardiac surgical procedure in which a patient’s diseased mitral valve is replaced by either a mechanical or bioprosthetic valve. Mitral valve replacement is performed when the valve becomes too tight (mitral valve stenosis) for blood to flow into the left ventricle, or too loose (mitral valve regurgitation) in which case blood can leak back into the left atrium and thereby back into the lung. Mitral valve disease can occur from infection, calcification, inherited collagen disease, or other causes. Since a mitral valve replacement is an open heart surgical procedure, it requires placing
Mitral valve about 20% to the volume in the left ventricle prior to ventricular systole, and is known as the "atrial kick". The mitral annulus changes in shape and size during the cardiac cycle. It is smaller at the end of atrial systole due to the contraction of the left atrium around it, like a sphincter. This reduction in annulus size at the end of atrial systole may be important for the proper coapting of the leaflets of the mitral valve when the left ventricle contracts and pumps blood. Leaking valves can be corrected by mitral valve annuloplasty, a common surgical procedure