Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

Blog Topic: What are all the symptoms of mitral valve prolapse? What are the symptoms of other heart valve disorders including aortic stenosis, regurgitation, insufficiency?

The more I write about heart valve surgery, the more I have learned to be somewhat conservative when trying to respond to emails that say, “Adam: What are all the symptoms of mitral valve prolapse?”

My reasoning? There are lots and lots and lots of symptoms given the body’s complex nature of reacting to heart valve disease and defects.

That said, I will change the question around a bit. Instead of answering, “What are all the symptoms of mitral valve prolapse?” I will answer the question, “What are they key symptoms and problems of heart valve disorders?”

I hope that’s okay with you.

But first, let me tell you about my symptoms for my valve disorder - severe aortic stenoisis and severe aortic regurgitation. Are you ready? Here it is… I only had one symptom that led me to seek out my cardiologist. That’s it. One symptom. From that one symptom, I went to the heart doctor. Then, I had some tests done. Eight weeks later, I was having double heart valve replacement (known as the Ross Procedure).

Only One Symptom!

Interestingly enough, there are many patients that are completely asymptomatic. That’s right. No symptoms!!!

I’ll never forget my first day in cardiac rehab. I met Ted. Ted was a 42 year old man, father of three, who loved to play golf. One year, during a regular physical, his doctor heard a murmur. Then came the diagnosis. A few weeks later, like me, Ted was having open heart valve repair surgery.

Pretty interesting, right?

So, with the stories behind us, let me share with you some of the key symptoms for valve disorders including mitral valve prolapse, aortic stenosis and regurgitation. As I had only symptom, I learned about these symptoms as I did research for my book, The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. Here they are:

• Shortness of breath, especially with exertion or when you lie down
• Fatigue, especially during times of increased activity
• Cough, especially at night or when lying down
• Heart palpitations — sensations of a rapid, fluttering heartbeat
• Swollen feet or ankles
• Heart murmur
• Excessive urination
• Chest pain (angina) or tightness
• Feeling faint or fainting with exertion
• Dizziness

I could go on and try and answer the question, “What are all the symptoms of mitral valve prolapse?” But, I think the information above gives you a pretty good idea of the symptoms of heart valve disorders.

Keep on tickin!

About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery, a unique book which integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of 78 former valve surgery patients. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, August 11th, 2007 at 12:07 pm and is filed under Heart Valve Surgery, Email Bag, About Adam Pick. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Print This Post | EMail This Post.