to lindrusso - mitral valve prolapse

[karen w]

Mitral valve prolapse(MVP) is the leading cause of mitral regurgitation as a result of incompetence of the valve apparatus. The incompetent/diseased area may be the leaflets or the chordae. The majority of people with MVP remain asymtomatic, but one can see palpitations, fatigue, chest pain etc... And the majority of patients with it require no treatment. It is most common in women in early adulthood, and is characterized by a midsystolic click. These people do usually need prophylactic antibiotic therapy prior to any procedures such as surgery/dental extractions etc.... because of the risk of bacterial endocarditis.

That's about what I can remember for now from med. school days. If you want more info. I can crack open a book!

[MrsReber]

Karen, you are most informative! I can tell you the symptoms that I get- occasional sharp chest pain that only lasts for a second or two, irregular heartbeats or what they call "coupling". My heart will beat twice or more times very quickly. When this happens, the blood doesn't flow properly so it's possible to get dizzy or even pass out if it does not correct itself soon enough. It usually does correct itself, but it's been pretty scary at times. MVP is triggered mostly by the adrenaline rush in the bloodstream. If I get stressed out over something, even if I'm not aware that I am becoming stressed out, my heart might beat weird. I avoid caffiene, limit my alcohol, and try to limit eating chocolate and aged cheeses (my downfall). Also, ripe bananas are very bad. There is a chemical formed in the ripening process that affects my heart. My doctor specifically warned me about that. I love bananas, too, so I am sad about that one. I could care less about the caffiene- I never drank coffee and there's plenty of sodas out there withouth caffiene (certain brands of root beer, cream soda, sprite, minute maid grape and orange).

I actually had a severe condition. My heart beat irregularly at least three times a minute or 180 times an hour. I was on a pretty high dose of medication for a while. It was a beta blocker so I had to come off it very gradually. I can see a direct correlation between my mood and my heart. Now that I am married to a wonderful man and very happy with my life, I was able to come off the medication with no trouble. I still get the irregular heartbeats, but maybe a couple of times a day as opposed to 180 times an hour! As Karen pointed out, most people with MVP don't even know that they have it because it is so mild. My cardiologist says they really know very little about it or really why it happens. Could be hereditary, but no one else in my family seems to have it. And I do have to take antibiotics an hour before going to the dentist. It's currently 2,000mg of amoxicillan or penicillan.

[pmmahan]

wow! thanks for the information - my sister has it, and sometimes I get a fluttering in my chest - its a scary feeling, and I've heard the condition is hereditary. Doesn't sound like I need to worry, though.
Thank you!

[MrsReber]

Yes, a fluttering sensation in your chest can be a symptom. If you're unsure, you may want to ask your doctor about it. It's not like people die from it and it's a rather harmless condition, but it may be good to know if you have it or not since there are certain medical precautions that would be taken. The reason for the antibiotics before the dentist visit (or any surgical procedure where bacteria can enter the blood stream) is because the bacteria will attack the weakest part of your body - in my case, the mitral valve. It causes a very serious condition that can result in death, but I can't spell the condition! It tactocardia or something like that. The woman at my gym almost died from bacteria as a child. I don't mean to scare you- I found out that I had this condition when I was 19- although I had felt the fluttering before, I was afraid to go to the doctor. Thought he'd tell me I was dying or something. I lived a fine life up until the age of 19- indulging in whatever foods I wanted and drinking and not knowing that I should be taking antibiotics whenever I got sick. It's more a precautionary measure than anything. It can't hurt to check it out if you think you may have it. It can be hereditary. Most often they'll do a 24 hour holter monitor and they should be able to tell. They just hook up the electrodes to you for 24 hours and tape your heartbeat. It's really not that bad at all- my husband even had it done last year. After I had that done, they noted the problem and sent me for an echo cardiograom (a sonogram of the heart) and he could clearly see the problem.

[pmmahan]

Hmmm..maybe i should see my doctor. I'll give him a call. Thank you, Mrs Reber!

Just curious - did you feel the chest pain over your heart or on the other side and across your neck?

[This message has been edited by pmmahan (edited 01-11-2001).]

[pmmahan]

sorry lindrusso- I meant to post this to Mrs Reber -

what is mitral valve prolapse?

[This message has been edited by pmmahan (edited 01-11-2001).]

[MrsReber]

I feel the sharp pains on my left side, right around my heart. The doctor told me not to worry about it unless the pains last longer than a couple of seconds. They never last that long, it's more annoying than anything.

You are most welcome for the information. Like I said, it can't hurt to check it out, especially if someone else in your family has MVP.

[DWB]

Hi. I have a prolapsed mitrovalve too, which I discovered during a period of extreme stress over 20 years ago. I agree that normally it is not a big deal, but when I first had symptoms my heart raced like crazy and scared me half to death. I then had discomfort in my left upper arm and chest for over a year. I really haven't had symptoms since. But what I wanted to point out, is that in order to discover it, the doctor had to listen to my heart when I was upside down. I thought this was weird, and asked my sister-doctor about it, and was reassured that he knew what he was doing. I do know of other people who have it that are prone to panic attacks, but most people never know they have it. My attack was after a neighbor was brutally murdered, so I was under extreme stress.DWB