ABSTRACT
The relationship between mitral valve prolapse and anxiety states has interested clinicians and researchers since the identification of the former condition in the early 1960s. Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) refers to a defect in the functional anatomy of the mitral valve that results in displacement of the mitral leaflets superiorly into the left atrium or posteriorly along the plane of the mitral anulus during systole. Clinical diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse is usually based on typical auscultatory findings, which include a midsystolic click, and/or late or holosytolic murmer. Anxiety occurs as a normal response to situations of perceived threat, uncertainty or conflict in humans as well as other species. The response includes a sense of vigilance and/or apprehension and physiologic arousal appropriate to fight or flight. Generalized anxiety is characterized by persistent autonomic arousal, muscle tension, and/or sense of vigilance associated with worries about one or more aspects of everyday life.
