What Is Mild Mitral Valve Regurgitation in the Heart?

Mild mitral regurgitation is also known as mitral valve regurgitation or mitral valve insufficiency. Under normal conditions, there is no blood flow back to the left atrium during the systolic phase of the mitral valve. Blood flowing back from the left ventricle to the left atrium during the systolic phase is mitral regurgitation. There are many causes of valve regurgitation, such as valve prolapse, valvular sclerosis in the elderly, rheumatic valvular disease in teenagers and young adults, infectious inflammation of the valve, and heart dilation. Acute mitral regurgitation immediately causes an increase in left atrial pressure and shortness of breath, while chronic mitral regurgitation only moderately elevates left atrial pressure, with fatigue and loss of activity being the main symptoms. Acute ischemic mitral regurgitation can occur during acute myocardial infarction or after ventricular remodeling following myocardial infarction, causing papillary muscle displacement and annular dilation. Among other cases of acute mitral regurgitation, pulmonary edema with a normally sized heart is relatively common. The causes of mild mitral regurgitation can be either organic or functional (or physiological). However, it is generally believed that mild mitral regurgitation does not require treatment when other examinations are normal. Multiple organic heart diseases can damage the opening and closing functions of the valve, resulting in conditions such as valve stenosis (inability to open the valve) or valvular insufficiency (inability to close the valve tightly, resulting in blood regurgitation). Clinically, the common causes of mitral valve insufficiency are rheumatic heart disease, as well as other conditions such as congenital valve malformations and calcification of the mitral annulus. It should be noted that any heart disease that causes dilation of the left ventricle may lead to mitral valve insufficiency, such as coronary heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, hypertensive heart disease, mitral valve prolapse, etc.