Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) is a common cardiac valve disease that affects one in 40 Americans. This condition is characterized by enlargement and mechanical incompetence of the mitral valve leaflets, which billow backwards into the left atrium during ventricular systole, and often fail to properly close. Emerging studies have implicated MVP in the onset of regionalized left ventricular fibrosis, which is in turn a risk factor for malignant ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Using Human samples, mouse, and primary cell culture models, and genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic analyses, we are dissecting the mechanism that links valve disease to regionalized LV fibrosis with the goal of identifying novel biology, therapeutics, and clinical preventative strategies to protect the hearts of MVP patients from developing fibrosis.

JAHA: "Mitral Valve Prolapse Induces Regionalized Myocardial Fibrosis"