When the researchers examined the features of MVP on the echocardiograms, they found that, compared with men, women generally had different and usually less severe valve abnormalities. Among patients with no or mild mitral regurgitation, women lived longer than men did, but among men and women who had severe mitral regurgitation, survival was better for men than for women. They also found that, among people with severe mitral regurgitation, men were more likely than women to have surgery. However, men and women who had surgery had similar survival.