Prevention Discuss any history of heart valve disease or congenital heart disease before treatment by the health care provider or dentist. Any dental work, including cleaning, and any invasive procedure can introduce bacteria into the bloodstream. This bacteria can infect a damaged mitral valve causing endocarditis . A stethoscopic examination of the heart may reveal a distinctive murmur or other abnormal sounds. The murmur is worse when standing.
Blood pressure is usually normal.
An echocardiogram may show mitral valve prolapse and sometimes mitral regurgitation. Doppler examination Cardiac catheterization may show MVP or mitral regurgitation. Chest X-rays will be normal unless severe MR is present. In that case there may be fluid in the lungs or an enlarged left atrium. Other tests may include ultrasound , chest MRI , radionucleotide scans, or a CT scan of the chest .