Mitral Regurgitation
Mitral valve regurgitation (MR) is a condition in which the mitral valve in the heart does not close tightly, allowing blood to flow backwards in the heart. In the presence of a leaky mitral valve, the left ventricle partially ejects directly into the left atrium provoking symptoms of congestive heart failure (CHF). Mitral regurgitation necessitating mitral valve surgical repair or replacement is a significant worldwide healthcare problem. There are numerous causes for mitral regurgitation, including ischemia, degeneration, rheumatic fever, infection, and congenital heart defects. Mitral regurgitation may also be functional, related to dilation of the left ventricle due to ischemic or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.
15 in 1,000 people over 55 suffer from heart failure. 50% of these have mitral regurgitation.
It is estimated that 1-2% of the population of the United States are affected by mitral regurgitation. Due to improvements in revascularization technologies, more people are surviving myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack, and the patient population for mitral regurgitation recurrence continues to increase. Mitral regurgitation has been identified as a major accelerator for congestive heart failure (CHF), which affects 5.7 million people in the United States. It is estimated that 15% of all CHF patients have clinically relevant mitral regurgitation, and 50% of all heart attack (MI) patients will develop ischemic-related mitral regurgitation at 30 days post-MI.
