A Click and a Murmur: Mitral Valve Prolapse Stories

Inside this volume

Fifty first-person accounts describe living with mitral valve prolapse, from a faint click found by chance to a leak that needed repair. Writers came to it through a high school soccer physical, a university medical, a smartwatch that buzzed 'High heart rate detected', four energy drinks before a late night, a faint at a cousin's wedding, and eleven years of being told it was anxiety. They include a pilot and a truck driver protecting their medicals, a police applicant, a scholarship swimmer, a yoga teacher, a choir soprano, a rancher two hours from the nearest cardiologist, a seamstress of seventy-eight given a clip instead of open surgery, and a husband waiting outside theatre. Places range from Columbus to Christchurch, Accra to Aberdeen. The book covers repairs, clips, metal and tissue valves, an ablation for extra beats, second opinions, antibiotics before the dentist, insurance exclusions, an eight-month waiting list, cardiac rehab, pregnancy, menopause and health anxiety. Many writers simply turn up for a scan every few years and carry on. Some stories are harder: one valve tore suddenly one evening, a welder developed an infection on his valve, and a boy was kept from cricket for years for no good reason.

Who it's for

For anyone recently told they have mitral valve prolapse or a leaking mitral valve, and for the parents, partners and twins who sit beside them through scans, palpitations and decisions about repair.

Format · Instant download · PDF & EPUB · Fifty first-person accounts · PDF: 231 pages

A collection of personal testimony, offered as companion reading — not medical advice.

• 50 single-author testimonies from real people
• A short, plain-language introduction to the topic
• Editor's note, contents page, and curated resource list
• Professional interior typesetting and an original cover

Every purchase includes a print-quality PDF (best for desktop, tablet, and printing) and a reflowable EPUB (best for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, and phones). Files are DRM-free. You can download both instantly from the order-confirmation screen, and we email them to your inbox as well, so your books are always within reach.