Mitral Valve Prolapse Archives

mitral valve regurgitation

I am a 55 year old female and have just been diagnosed with "significant" mitral valve regurtition after a Thallium stress test and ECG. In searching your web site I read that mitral valve prolapse is most commonly caused by rheumatic fever...if I understood correctly. To my knowledge I've never had that. My family doc told me several years ago that I had a heart murmur but didn't pursue it. I assumed it was a benign murmur and that a lot of people have it. Is there a probable connection between that and the regurgitation that I now have? And would stress change the heart murmur to "significant" regurg? I have a low threshold for the fight or flight response. I just finished a 3 week leave from my job (RN) because of stress, and was planning to return to work the day after my stress test and ECG. The cardiologist told me not to return to work until further evaluation was done. I'm to have a cardiac cath and possibly a trans esophogeal ECG tomorrow.

The reason I had the stress test and ECG was that for about 2 months now I've been having mild chest pain off and on which I attributed to gastric reflux but sometimes it felt different. I called to make an appointment with my doc but he scheduled the tests instead.

I just found your site today and plan to do a lot more reading on it. I find it very informative. Also, I appreciate your alternative (not the word I want to use but I can't remember the one I want...too much aspartame?) approach.

Maey

Follow Ups:

• Re: mitral valve regurgitation michele 23:15:08 6/29/02 (0)
• Re: mitral valve regurgitation lorena 12:33:20 6/28/02 (0)
• Re: mitral valve regurgitation (Archive in cardiac conditions.) Walt Stoll 06:36:39 6/28/02 (2)
  • Re: mitral valve regurgitation (Archive in cardiac conditions.) Mary 01:27:26 6/30/02 (1)
    • Re: mitral valve regurgitation (Archive in cardiac conditions.) Walt Stoll 06:35:19 7/02/02 (0)
• Mitral valve regurgitation vs. MVP Lincoln 14:42:44 6/27/02 (1)
  • Re: Mitral valve regurgitation vs. MVP Mary 23:54:53 6/27/02 (0)

In Reply to: mitral valve regurgitation posted by Mary on June 27, 2002 at 12:22:34:

I'm pretty sure they are not the same thing. Regurgitation is bad. Walt says MVP is not. Check the archives again.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Mitral valve regurgitation vs. MVP Mary 23:54:53 6/27/02 (0)

In Reply to: Mitral valve regurgitation vs. MVP posted by Lincoln on June 27, 2002 at 14:42:44:

Lincoln, thanks for the post. I'll check the archives again.

In Reply to: mitral valve regurgitation posted by Mary on June 27, 2002 at 12:22:34:

Hi, Mary.

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

The most common cause of significant mitral valve regurgitation is rheumatic heart disease. MVP, as currently defined, has nothing to DO with that diagnosis.

You need to get a definitive diagnosis and listen to your cardiologists. This is a place where conventional medicine shines.

Let us know what you learn.

Walt

Follow Ups:

• Re: mitral valve regurgitation (Archive in cardiac conditions.) Mary 01:27:26 6/30/02 (1)
  • Re: mitral valve regurgitation (Archive in cardiac conditions.) Walt Stoll 06:35:19 7/02/02 (0)

In Reply to: mitral valve regurgitation posted by Mary on June 27, 2002 at 12:22:34:

Mary, I have MVP with regurgitation, level One. I found the best and most informative "read" on MVP to be Sharon Anderson's book "MVP: Benign Syndrome?" in which she seriously questions conventional medicine's attitude toward MVP (that it's "benign").

In Reply to: mitral valve regurgitation posted by Mary on June 27, 2002 at 12:22:34:

I too was diagnosed with mitral valve regurgitation. I was told I got this through the use of phen-fen. I was earlier diagnosed with acid reflux. I would wake up unable to breathe, panicing. I felt as if someone had ripped out my throat. I have dull chest pains sometimes accompanied with dizziness. Any pressure on my chest hurts. Even when I allow my seven month old twin nephews lay on my chest, it causes so much pain I have to stop.

In Reply to: Re: mitral valve regurgitation (Archive in cardiac conditions.) posted by Walt Stoll on June 28, 2002 at 06:36:39:

Thank you Dr. Stoll. I had a heart cath on Friday showing that about half of the blood that should be pumped into my systemic circulation is going back into the left atrium and then back into my lungs. I'm to have surgery on Tuesday where they will try to repair the mitral valve. If that doesn't seem to be feasible the surgeon will replace the valve with a metal one. I'm ready for it. The simplest things seem to take such an effort now. I have many, many people praying for me and I know that I am in the Master's hands.

Mary

Follow Ups:

• Re: mitral valve regurgitation (Archive in cardiac conditions.) Walt Stoll 06:35:19 7/02/02 (0)

In Reply to: Re: mitral valve regurgitation (Archive in cardiac conditions.) posted by Mary on June 30, 2002 at 01:27:26:

Thanks, Mary.

As you know, this is definitely not MVP!

This is rheumatic valvular damage and this kind of surgrey is what conventional medicine is good at. It has veen very successful since the '50s.

Let us know about your experiences.

Walt