What is the difference between having a heart murmur and a mitral valve prolapse?

Heart murmur: Could occur in same person. Murmur is detected by auscultation by listening to heart beats with stethoscope. Mortal valve prolapse is seen on screen by doing echocardiogram.

Sometimes related : Mitral valve prolapse is a diagnosis which describes how the valve closes. A heart murmur is a physical finding (sign) it is not a diagnosis. A heart murmur is a sound you can hear when blood flows with turbulence (rough flow like rapids in a river). Murmurs can be caused by many things. The location and quality often gives us clues to what caused it. Prolapse may or may not have a murmur.

Simple: Murmur= an extra heart sound beyond the expected lub dup. Mitral valve prolapse= the mitral valve sinks in when it closes and may leak. You hear a murmur, which may be a problem or not. You usually won't hear a valve prolapse but find out about it on a cardiac ultrasound or catheterization.