Can mitral valve prolapse be misdiagnosed?

A heart condition called mitral valve prolapse has often been misdiagnosed — especially in women — says Dr. Judith Reichman.

Is mitral valve prolapse considered heart failure?

Mitral valve prolapse is a common cause of mitral regurgitation. That’s a condition in which some blood flows backward through the mitral valve with each heartbeat. Over years, moderate or severe mitral regurgitation can cause weakness of the heart muscle, known as congestive heart failure.

What age is mitral valve prolapse diagnosed?

Mitral valve prolapse is typically diagnosed during a routine physical exam with a stethoscope. Most patients with MVP are female. It affects individuals of differing ages but most commonly those patients between the ages of 14 and 30.

Does magnesium help with mitral valve prolapse?

The group found that many patients with heavily symptomatic mitral valve prolapse have low serum magnesium, and magnesium supplementation leads to improvement in most symptoms such as chest pain, dyspnoea, weakness, palpitations and anxiety along with a decrease in catecholamine excretion.

Does exercise help mitral valve prolapse?

Treatment. The heart is a muscle and, like any muscle, it gets stronger with exercise. Aerobic exercise strengthens the heart and makes it more efficient and is generally recommended for those with MVP.

Does magnesium help tachycardia?

Treatment with oral magnesium is a physiologic therapy and should be considered for patients with ventricular tachycardia due to hypomagnesemia.

What should you not do with mitral valve prolapse?

Resistance training Resistance training, especially the one that includes weights, is not recommended for Mitral Valve Prolapse sufferers. This is because the exercise can strain the heart and increase blood pressure, which is not ideal for your MVP.

What does it mean if your mitral valve is too floppy?

Mitral valve prolapse. Mitral valve prolapse is where the mitral valve is too floppy and does not close tightly. Many people with a mitral valve prolapse do not have symptoms and it may only be spotted during a heart scan (echocardiogram) carried out for another reason.

What is the medical term for mitral valve prolapse?

See related patient information handout on mitral valve prolapse, written by Courtenay Brooks, a medical editing clerkship fellow at Georgetown University Medical Center. Mitral valve prolapse is a pathologic anatomic and physiologic abnormality of the mitral valve apparatus affecting mitral leaflet motion.

When do you need surgery for mitral regurgitation?

mitral regurgitation – the valve leaks and blood flows the wrong way These conditions can be serious, but they’re often treatable. In some cases, mitral valve surgery may be needed. Mitral valve prolapse is where the mitral valve is too floppy and does not close tightly.

Is it dangerous to have mitral valve prolapse?

Heart Conditions and Treatments Preventive Heart Care Valve Disease Mitral valve prolapse affects an estimated three to five percent of the American population. In fact, it’s the most common heart valve condition in the country. For many of these people, it’s not considered dangerous.

How are stress tests used to diagnose mitral valve prolapse?

In this noninvasive test, a technician will place probes on your chest that record the electrical impulses that make your heart beat. An ECG records these electrical signals and can help your doctor detect irregularities in your heart’s rhythm and structure, including mitral valve prolapse. Stress test.

Are there any medications that can cause mitral prolapse?

Be careful with weight loss medications if you have mitral prolapse. Certain appetite suppressants, in particular, have been known to both cause and exacerbate problems with the heart and its valves. Dexfenfluramine and fenfluramine are two examples of appetite suppressants that cause problems in the heart.

What happens if you have a leak in the mitral valve?

However, most people with mitral valve prolapse have a mild leak or no leak at all. Mitral valve prolapse also slightly increases the risk of getting bacterial endocarditis, which occurs when bacteria enter the bloodstream and infect the lining of the heart valves.