Dr Ben Gibbison, Consultant in Cardiac Anaesthesia and Intensive Care in Bristol, discusses his article 'Mitral Valve and Mitral Valve Disease', published in the January 2017 edition of BJA Education. Dr Gibbison gives an overview of the consequences of both the stenotic and regurgitant mitral valve lesions, helps us understand the haemodynamic goals of anaesthetising patients with these lesions safely and some of the currently available treatment options.