Mitral valve prolapse patients failed to demonstrate classic vegetations. All had rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and presented with prolonged fever. All had severe eccentric mitral regurgitation (MR). (One had severe aortic regurgitation (AR) also.) One had flail posterior mitral leaflet (PML). The mitral valve, so named because of its resemblance to a bishop's mitre, is the heart valve that prevents the backflow of blood from the left ventricle into the left atrium of the heart. It is composed of two leaflets, one anterior and one posterior, that close when the left ventricle contracts. Each leaflet is composed of three layers of tissue: the
Mitral insufficiency MR and mitral valve prolapse are also common in Ehlers–Danlos syndromes. Secondary mitral insufficiency is due to the dilatation of the left ventricle that causes stretching of the mitral valve annulus and displacement of the papillary muscles. This dilatation of the left ventricle can be due to any cause of dilated cardiomyopathy including aortic insufficiency, nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy, and Noncompaction cardiomyopathy. Because the papillary muscles, chordae, and valve leaflets are usually normal in such conditions, it is also called functional mitral insufficiency. Acute MR is most often caused by endocarditis, mainly "S. aureus". Rupture or dysfunction of the papillary muscle