What is the Mitral Valve?
The mitral valve controls the flow of blood between 2 chambers (or “rooms”) of your heart called the left atrium and the left ventricle. Normally, blood flows in one direction only, from the atrium to the ventricle. When the heart relaxes in between beats, the 2 flaps of the mitral valve swing open to let blood flow from the atrium to the ventricle. The flaps normally open only one way. (See the pictures below.
The mitral valve controls blood flow through the left side of the heart. When it opens, the mitral valve allows blood to flow into the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber. When the left ventricle contracts, the mitral valve closes in order to prevent blood from flowing back toward the lungs. Sometimes the mitral valve is abnormal from birth. It can also become damaged by infection, with age or from heart disease.
The mitral valve is part of the heart. Remember how the heart works? • A normal heart has four chambers, two atria (say: ay-tree-uh) and two ventricles (say: ven-trih-kulz). Each side of the heart has an atrium and a ventricle. • Blood comes from all over the body into the heart’s right atrium. • From there it goes to the right ventricle. The right ventricle pumps the blood to the lungs, where it picks up oxygen. • Next, the blood returns from the lungs to the heart’s left atrium. • From the left atrium it goes into the left ventricle, which pumps the blood out to the body so the body can use the oxygen in the blood. The mitral valve is between the heart’s left atrium and left ventricle. It has two flaps that open and close together like a pair of swinging doors. When the heart beats, the left ventricle pumps blood out to the body and the flaps swing shut. This keeps the blood in the ventricle from going back into the left atrium.
The mitral valve is one of four heart valves. It is located between the left atrium of the heart, which receives fresh, oxygenated blood from the lungs, and the left ventricle, which pumps the blood out to the body. The mitral valve receives its name due to its shape, which resemble a bishop’s miter with two peaks. The graphic below shows the location of the mitral valve and the blood flow through the chambers of the heart when there is mitral valve regurgitation or back flow of blood in the left ventricle.
The mitral valve is located between the left atrium and the left ventricle and is composed of two flaps. Normally the flaps are held tightly closed during left ventricular contraction (systole) by the chordae tendineae (small tendon “cords” that connect the flaps to the muscles of the heart). In MVP, the flaps enlarge and stretch inward toward the left atrium, sometimes “snapping” during systole, and may allow some backflow of blood into the left atrium (regurgitation).
