Questions To Those With Mvp

[lewis]

MVP (mitral valve prolapse)

Is MVP causing your dysautonomia?

What symptoms does it give you?

Can you feel the regurgitation?

What brings on your symptoms?

Does increased salt make it worse?

Does taking a beta blocker help?

Does taking anything else help?

[Katybug]

I do have mvp but mine is very mild. They believe it is secondary to my EDS. As far as I kniw, it doesn't have any significant effects on my symptoms, nor is it affected significantly by anything I do.

[imapumpkin]

In Jan 2013 I underwent a mitral valve surgical repair. Technically speaking my valve is no longer prolapsed and it is repaired, but the diagnosis stays with you for your whole life because you need to keep an eye on it.

Here are the best answers to your questions I can give.

1. I don't know the source of my POTS/dysautonomia. However, following the surgery my MVP symptoms resolved, but my POTS did not. I was diagnosed with MVP at age 19 but wasn't debilitaed with POTS until age 24, and it's been 20 months since my surgery and my POTS is still sticking around (I would think if the MVP had caused the POTS, my POTS would have improved much more following the repair) Whether or not MVP caused my POTS or my POTS made my MVP ten times worse, they definitely fed into each other and made each other worse. I saw a geneticist who claims that I got MVP from an "unspecified connective tissue disorder" but that is based on no evidence OTHER than my MVP, so I am inclined to believe that he is full of bologna.

2. It is hard to tell what cardiac symptoms were from the MVP because POTS manifests so many cardiac symptoms as well, but these are the symptoms resolved since my surgery: Frequent heart palpitations, frequent localized heart pain that felt like a stabbing needle,occasional shortness of breath, specifically the feeling of "air hunger" and an audible murmur that only appeared 4 months before my surgery.

3, Regurgitation is not something you can physically feel. The way the doctors determine the amount of regurgitation in your heart is based on your Ejection Fraction (the fractional volume of blood pumped from the left to the right ventricle with each heartbeat) in an echocardiogram. By the time I was told I needed repair surgery, my EF was relatively high but could not feel it.

4. Nothing brought on my MVP symptoms, they were transient and pretty much showed up whenever they felt like it. When my POTS flared up and I became unable to work, that is when my MVP symptoms were made worse and essentially precipitated my need for surgery. My EF was normal 4 months before my flare. I was told I needed surgery 2 months after my flare.

5. Salt intake had no bearing on my MVP symptoms

6. I started taking propranolol for my POTS when it flared up. Though I had to stop taking it after 2 weeks because I couldn't tolerate it, it did not help my MVP symptoms while I was on it.

7. When my MVP got bad enough that symptoms were interfering with my life, nothing else helped. Just the surgery.

I hope my answers were helpful. What symptoms are you experience from your MVP? Do you think you are experiencing MVP syndrome? If so definitely talk to your cardiologist.

[lewis]

I haven't been diagnosed with mvp. My stress test showed slight regurgitation but within normal limits so they said. I have been trying to communicate with my cardiologist s through the hospital messaging systems since the end of June and just found out she is out on maternity leave until November with no doctor taking over her patients so I am seeing a new cardiologist on Tuesday. My pulse pressure is always around 60 and when it gets higher I getting a thumping feeling. My orthostatic intolerance has been almost gone the last 3 weeks but the heart palps and pulse pressure along with chest pain and air hunger are driving me nuts. I know they day you can feel the regurgitation but I definitely feel something that makes me think it is. They also told me there was no way I could feel a bruie in the anuerysm of my celiac artery but I could feel it and as soon as they fixed it, it was gone. I was the one that found that bruie and bright it to there attention.

[YolaInBlue]

I was diagnosed with MVP with slight regurgitation when I was 19 (brought on by rheumatic fever). My MVP is mild and hasn't gotten any worse throughout the years (I'm 44 now).

All doctors agree that it's not the cause of my dysautonomia.

The only symptom I really have from it is getting tired easily. Even though I worked as a fitness instructor, I could never built endurance, and I was out of breath quickly while running or doing any aerobic activity.

I never felt regurgitation, but I could hear it while having echocardiogram done.

Salt intake doesn't seem to affect it.

I've tried 2 beta blockers: bystolic and pindolol for tachycardia brought on by dysautonomia. I had to take midodrin and florinef with it to raise my blood pressure, which was always low. My tachycardia got better with time. I don't take a beta blocker now.

I figured out that for me, if I try to push myself I only feel worse, with both, dysautonomia and MVP symptoms, so I just listen to my body and pace myself.