Floppy mitral valve/mitral valve prolapse and genetics.

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a defect in the mitral valve where a redundancy of valve tissue is associated with a variety of clinical expressions, ranging from an isolated mild bulging of the mitral valve to a severe prolapse of the mitral valve with extensive mitral regurgitation. As the natural history and complications of MVP are not always benign, it seems essential to strive for the proper management of these patients. The identification of functionally related genes could provide helpful clues and increase the present understanding of the pathogenesis of MVP, with the ultimate goal of developing targeted therapies. The genetics of MVP can be divided into two parts: (i) Genetics in floppy mitral valve/MVP; and (ii) genetics in heritable connective tissue disorders (Marfan syndrome, polycystic kidney, etc.) associated with floppy mitral valve. Herein, the known genetic aspects of MVP are described, according to the above-mentioned scheme.