[Causes and risk factors for development of mitral valve prolapse].

Mitral prolapse is a common valvular anomaly. Mechanisms of prolapse formation are studied with the use of modern investigation methods. Primary prolapse results from congenital structural defects of intracardiac formations (papillary muscles, trabecules, chordae) of the left ventricle, as well as associated microcirculatory disorders. Genetically caused rearrangement of fibrillar structures of the extracellular matrix of connective tissue (myxomatous degeneration) is observed in half of the patients with primary mitral prolapse. Concerning secondary prolapse of the leaflets, some mechanisms are singled out and a large group of diseases is described.