Sudden Cardiac Arrest as first Manifestation of Malignant Mitral Valve Prolapse in a Young Patient: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

ABSTRACT

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a primary valvular disease of the mitral valve with a prevalence of 2.4% of the general population. Valve abnormalities range from simple fibroelastic deficiency of the leaflets to diffuse myxomatous degenerative changes. MVP is a usually a benign condition. However, the scattered reports of sudden cardiac death in patients with MVP in the absence of severe mitral insufficiency or coronary artery disease suggest the existence of a malignant phenotype of MVP. We report a case of a young female who survived life-threatening arrhythmias and cardiac arrest and was found to have characteristic features of the malignant phenotype of MVP and had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator as a secondary prevention. LEARNING POINTS Malignant MVP may be associated with life-threatening arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.MVP is not always a benign condition, and physicians should be aware of the diagnostic criteria for malignant MVP.Echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance are crucial diagnostic methods to detect signs suggestive of malignant MVP.