When the mitral valve flaps do not close completely, blood flows back into the heart as it pumps, thus the reference to a leaky valve. When this occurs, the heart must work harder to keep blood flowing and raises the risk for a life-threatening stroke or heart failure.
Fort Worth heart doctors here in our Valve Disorders Center guide a small device called a MitraClip® into place using a thin catheter introduced via a small incision in a leg vein. Once in position, the heart doctor attaches a clip to the mitral valve's flaps to help it close more completely and restore normal blood flow to the heart.