A mid-systolic click and late systolic murmur in a patient with palpitations are indicative of which condition?

The presence of a mid-systolic click followed by a late systolic murmur is characteristic of mitral valve prolapse. In this condition, the mitral valve leaflets are displaced into the left atrium during systole, which can produce the audible click. The late systolic murmur results from the regurgitation of blood through the valve when it fails to close properly. Patients with mitral valve prolapse often experience palpitations, a sensation of skipped heartbeats or rapid heart rhythms, which can arise due to associated arrhythmias.

Mitral stenosis typically presents with a diastolic murmur and often results in distinct symptoms such as dyspnea or fatigue but does not usually cause a mid-systolic click. Atrial fibrillation tends to present with an irregularly irregular heart rhythm and does not correlate with these specific auscultatory findings. Sinus arrhythmia, related to physiological variations in heart rate during the respiratory cycle, is also not associated with the click and murmur pattern seen in mitral valve prolapse. Thus, the combination of findings supports the diagnosis of mitral valve prolapse as the condition related to the described auscultatory findings and symptoms.