Emergent Presentation of Decompensated Mitral Valve Prolapse and Atrial Septal Defect

• Main Authors: Kang, Jessie, Das, Bijon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: eScholarship Publishing, University of California 2015-05-01
• Series: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
• Online Access: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2k3801x5

Mitral valve prolapse is not commonly on the list of differential diagnosis when a patient presents in the emergency department (ED) in severe distress, presenting with non-specific features such as abdominal pain, tachycardia and dyspnea. A healthy 55-year-old man without significant past medical history arrived in the ED with a unique presentation of a primary mitral valve prolapse with an atrial septal defect uncommon in cardiology literature. Early recognition of mitral valve prolapse in high-risk patients for severe mitral regurgitation or patients with underlying cardiovascular abnormalities such as an atrial septal defect is crucial to prevent morbid outcomes such as sudden cardiac death. [West J Emerg Med. 2015;16(3):432–434.]