Most are surprised to learn that their heart is functioning in any way abnormally. More rarely chest pain is reported. However, these are symptoms which may or may not be related to the mitral valve prolapse. In most cases no treatment is needed. For a small proportion of individuals with mitral valve prolapse beta-blockers or other drugs are used to control specific symptoms.
Serious problems are rare, can easily be diagnosed and if necessary, treated surgically.
The overwhelming majority of people with mitral valve prolapse are free of symptoms and never develop any noteworthy problems. However, it is important to understand that in some cases mitral regurgitation, that is, the flow of blood back into the left atrium, can occur. Where mitral regurgitation has been diagnosed, there is an increased risk of acquiring bacterial endocarditis, an infection in the lining of the heart. To prevent bacterial endocarditis many physicians and dentists prescribe antibiotics before certain surgical or dental procedures. Contemporary understanding of this condition advanced, however, with the work in 1966 of Dr. J.B. Barlow in South Africa when he related the characteristic sounds to the specific anatomical characteristics of the leaflets in mitral valve prolapse.