Mitral valve prolapse (MVP).
Now, MVP does not stand for Most Valuable Player in this instance, but rather stands for Mitral Valve Prolapse, a minor condition that often goes unnoticed until adulthood. As a reminder the mitral valve sits between the left atrium and ventricle opening and closing to allow blood into the left ventricle and to stop blood from regurgitating back into the left atrium. The condition is congenital and often goes undiagnosed in infants (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/890425-overview)
Image from www.drugs.comThe valve is composed of two leaflets as seen above which when too small or over grown may lead to blood regurgitating back into the left atrium, which upon auscultation is heard as a whooshing sound between the "lub-dub" of the heart pumping. What makes the prolapse an abnormality is the fact that the leaflets parachute or balloons back into the left atrium allowing or not allowing regurgitation. Additionally, the mitral valve leaflets take on a floppy aspect which creates the parachute effect. The Movement of the the blood due to the left ventricle contracting puts pressure back onto the mitral valve and with the floppiness of the valve leaflets those leaflets balloon back up into the left atrium, most often still keeping all the blood in the left ventricle effectively. The only issues that arise with MVP are rare and are related to continual regurgitation of blood back into left atrium (http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/heart/mvp.html).
Image from www.mottchildren.org Image from
An example of a mitral valve prolapse is seen above on the left and of mitral regurgitation above on the right.
Mitral valve prolapse is not a life threatening or life altering condition. The prolapse rarely causes complications and simply requires monitoring to assure throughout the years that it does not develop into a more serious condition.
References
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/heart/mvp.html
