title: Basic mechanisms of mitral regurgitation.
abstract: Any structural or functional impairment of the mitral valve (MV) apparatus that exhausts MV tissue redundancy available for leaflet coaptation will result in mitral regurgitation (MR). The mechanism responsible for MV malcoaptation and MR can be dysfunction or structural change of the left ventricle, the papillary muscles, the chordae tendineae, the mitral annulus, and the MV leaflets. The rationale for MV treatment depends on the MR mechanism and therefore it is essential to identify and understand normal and abnormal MV and MV apparatus function.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dal-Bianco
authors.affiliation: Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Department of Cardiology, Québec City, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beaudoin
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Handschumacher
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Electronic address: rlevine@partners.org.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D002815:Chordae Tendineae / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000503:physiopathology; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008945:Mitral Valve Prolapse / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D012421:Rupture