Ncs And Mvp Surgery

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Hello all!

I have a good friend who has had NCS since her teens; she's in her late twenties now, and her NCS symptoms have been better as she's gotten a little older, but she also has MVP and that has gotten worse. She needs to have surgery to either repair or replace the valve (they won't know which one it's going to be until they actually go in and look at it).

Can anyone tell me more about this and what she might be able to expect? I know lots of people here deal with these two things, and I'd love any info you could share.

Thanks!

[flop]

Mitral valve prolapse is not that unusual and seems to happen in conjunction with dysautonomia symptoms quite often. The fast that the valve prolapses isn't automatically a problem (it is suspected that the prolapsing valve is an incidental finding rather than the cause of dysautonomia symptoms).

When valves are a problem is if they are either leaking (regurgitation or incompetence) or if they are narrowed (stenosed). Valves that are too narrow cause high pressures in the heart and it has to work had to push blood past the narrowing (sometimes these valves can be widened with a balloon procedure or sometimes they are replaced). Valves that leak mean that the heart works hard but the blood is able to go the wrong way so the effort of the heart is not effective (some of these valves can be surgically repaired other times they have to be replaced).

I only know of elderly people having heart valve operations but for them is was a big operation as it is "open heart surgery" so I think a recovery time of months rather than weeks is likely. Also if a metal valve is put in to replace the natural valve then I think you have to go on warfarin (coumadin) afterwards to prevent blood clots from forming on the valve.

All the best for your friend, she should get a chance to talk to her surgeon about the procedure in detail and it sounds like you are helping her to get questions ready to ask the doctors.

Flop