Medical Malpractice – Study demonstrates that early surgery is better than common medical practice of watch and wait for patients suffering severe mitral valve regurgitation

Severe mitral valve regurgitation is a life threatening condition that affects millions of Americans. It happens when the mitral valve doesn’t close properly and allows blood to flow backward to the heart. Most doctors treating severe mitral valve regurgitation use a watch and wait approach but a recent Mayo Clinic-led study by U.S. and European researchers published in the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrates that patients that have surgery early after diagnosis have improved long-term survival and lower risk of heart failure.