 Hello, I am Dr. Devananda, Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Manipal Hospitals. I have been practicing cardiac surgery for the last 18 years. Mitral valve prolapse is one subset of a causative factor for mitral valve regurgitation or mitral valve leak. This is a disease which affects almost 1.5 to 2 percent of normal population. And what causes it? Yes, this is a kind of tissue weakness which comes inherently from birth, in particularly the mitral valve. The substrate, so called the matrix, which makes up the mitral valve tissue is weak. So over a period of time these kinds of valves can start gradually leaking, which can progress. Or sometimes these weak valves under extreme sudden pressures like somebody does a bungie jump can tear the carotendin, which holds these mitral leaflets to the muscle, can break and cause sudden acute leakage of the mitral valve.