Mitral valve prolapse in the absence of maintenance of low dose antibiotics, especially during the first three to five years after the first episode. Heart complications may be long-term and severe, particularly if valves are involved. Rheumatic fever, since the advent of routine penicillin administration for Strep throat, has become less common in developed countries. In the older generation and in much of the less-developed world, valvular disease (including mitral valve prolapse, reinfection in the form of valvular endocarditis, and valve rupture) from undertreated rheumatic fever continues to be a problem. In an Indian hospital between 2004 and 2005, 4 of 24 endocarditis
Mitral valve repair left atrium or lungs when the ventricle contracts (squeezes) to push blood out to the body. It has two flaps, or leaflets, known as cusps. The techniques of mitral valve repair include inserting a cloth-covered ring around the valve to bring the leaflets into contact with each other (annuloplasty), removal of redundant/loose segments of the leaflets (quadrangular resection), and re-suspension of the leaflets with artificial (Gore-Tex) cords. Procedures on the mitral valve usually require a median sternotomy, but advances in non-invasive methods (such as keyhole surgery) allow surgery without a sternotomy (and resulting pain and scar). Minimally invasive mitral valve