Mitral valve stenosis, or mitral stenosis, is a narrowing of your heart's mitral valve — a one-way valve that opens and closes to control the flow of blood through your heart.
UPMC is a leader in diagnosing and treating mitral valve stenosis and researching the latest treatments.
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The mitral valve is located between the heart's left upper chamber (the left atrium) and the heart's lower left chamber (the left ventricle). It opens to allow blood to move out of the atrium and into the ventricle. It then closes to prevent blood from moving in the wrong direction.
When a heart with a healthy mitral valve squeezes, it sends blood from the atrium to the empty left ventricle.
The mitral valve's two flaps — or leaflets — open to allow blood to pass through. When the heart relaxes and the ventricle fills with blood, the flaps close.
Mitral valve stenosis prevents your mitral valve from opening properly, in some cases by causing the two flaps to partially fuse together. This prevents some of the blood from moving out of the atrium.
Mitral valve stenosis is an uncommon condition. Estimates show it affects only 1 in 100,000 people in the U.S.
Calcium may build up around your mitral valve as you age, causing mitral valve stenosis.
Mitral valve stenosis can also result from rheumatic fever, a childhood illness that occurs alongside conditions like strep throat or scarlet fever. Complications from these illnesses can damage the mitral valve or even cause it to fuse, though symptoms may not appear until years later. Although extremely rare in the United States due to effective antibiotics, rheumatic fever is still the second leading cause of mitral valve stenosis.
Other causes of mitral stenosis include:
Risk factors for mitral valve stenosis include:
Without treatment, mitral valve stenosis can lead to:
You may not be able to control some of your risk factors for mitral valve stenosis, such as aging and congenital conditions. However, eating a heart-healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol, avoiding recreational drugs, and controlling chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol may help to lower your risk.
Many people with mitral valve stenosis have no symptoms at all. When symptoms do occur, they usually begin gradually in people in their 30s or 40s, though they can occur at any age.
Symptoms of mitral valve stenosis can appear suddenly and worsen when your heart rate rises during exercise or physical exertion. Pregnancy and infection can also bring on symptoms. Telltale signs include heart murmur and irregular heart rhythms, or arrhythmias.
Some people with the condition may have mild symptoms that worsen over time, including:
You should call a doctor if you have:
Your doctor will ask about your medical history and do a physical exam.
Mitral valve stenosis often causes murmurs or strange sounds of blood flowing through your heart.
During your physical exam, your doctor will:
Your doctor may order further tests if they hear a heart murmur or if you are having symptoms.
Tests your doctor may use to diagnose mitral valve stenosis include:
Early diagnosis and treatment of mitral valve stenosis can improve your long-term outcomes and survival rate. Your doctor will discuss your prognosis with you.
At UPMC, we take a team approach to diagnosing and treating mitral valve stenosis. The initial goal is to reduce symptoms of heart failure using medication.
In addition, your UPMC doctor may recommend repairing or replacing the valve, either minimally invasively or surgically. Your doctor will use the approach that best meets your needs, which may include:
Balloon valvuloplasty is a minimally invasive procedure in which an interventional cardiologist inserts a catheter into a small blood vessel through a tiny incision in your groin.
The cardiologist guides the catheter through your blood vessels to the mitral valve. The catheter has a small balloon at its tip, which the interventional cardiologist inflates and deflates.
Inflating the balloon forces the fused portion of the leaflets to separate. This helps the valve to open more fully and allow more blood to pass through with each heartbeat.
If you have severe mitral stenosis and balloon valvuloplasty is not possible, your doctor may recommend minimally invasive catheter-based surgery to repair your valve. Your surgeon will evaluate your valve and determine if it can be surgically repaired.
Your surgeon may recommend valve replacement surgery if your mitral valves cannot be repaired.
After your surgeon has removed your mitral valve, he or she will replace it with a mechanical or tissue valve.
At UPMC, our team performs mitral valve repair procedures every day with a repair success rate of more than 90 percent. Our mitral valve replacement procedures have similar outcomes, with most otherwise healthy patients returning to a normal, active lifestyle after surgery.
At UPMC, our multidisciplinary team of cardiac surgeons, interventional cardiologists, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, and nurses works together to:
Last reviewed by a UPMC medical professional on 2024-10-01.
