Can you explain to me the nature of my mitral valve prolapse?

I discovered I had heart problems by attacks of tachycardia. An echocardiogram revealed I had a mitral valve prolapse and I had an operation to correct it.

The surgeon used robotic surgery and entered my heart through my right side. He apparently tried to correct the problem with some sort of band instead of using a prosthetic valve.

My mitral valve still backflushes blood. My cardiologist feared that I would have to have a second operation. Recently, however, he performed on me a transesophageal echocardiogram on me and said I did not need another operation--at least for now. He prescribed Exforge for my blood pressure and Sotolol to prevent further attacks of tachycardia.

What I don't quite understand is why a backflushing mitral valve is a medical problem, and I would really appreciate it if someone could explain this to me.

I have a mitral valve prolapse as well. I am lucky in that I have not had to have surgery. Glad your surgery went well. When a mitral valve prolapses it isn't closing all the way and it is allowing blood to go backwards in your heart. When it does this your heart is having to pump faster and harder to get blood through your heart and body. Apparently in your case, your mitral valve was allowing a large amount of blood to flow backwards to where it had to be prepared. It was done to keep the blood flowing all in one direction and to keep it from trying to flow in two directions, which is what was causing the tachycardia. Tachycardia, in turn, can cause heart attacks and ultimately your death. Hope this helps some.