Mitral valve prolapse in athletes generally has an excellent prognosis and often does not require therapy unless specific symptoms or arrhythmias necessitate beta blockers.
Supports conservative management for asymptomatic athletes with MVP; leaves open need for prospective risk-stratification studies.
In brief The mitral valve prolapse syndrome is prevalent in apparently normal people, including athletes. Symptoms, when present, range from chest pain and palpitations to anxiety neurosis. The typical finding on auscultation of the heart is a midsystolic click and/or a mid-to-late systolic high-frequency murmur. Cardiac arrhythmias are common and often do not require therapy. The exercise ECG shows ST segment depression in up to one fourth of patients. When drug therapy is necessary, beta blockers are usually selected. The overall prognosis is excellent. Sudden death, infectious endocarditis, and cerebral thromboembolic events are relatively rare.
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John D. Cantwell (1982) studied this question.
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