Does Mitral Valve Prolapse Impact Men And Women Differently?
I was just reading the Annals of Internal Medicine when I came across an interesting article about mitral valve prolapse and its impact upon men and women. The summary (below) is from a report titled “Sex Differences in Morphology and Outcomes of Mitral Valve Prolapse”.
Here are the key findings from the report:
- The researchers studied 4461 women and 3768 men in whom mitral valve prolapse (MVP) was diagnosed on an echocardiogram obtained for some other reason between 1989 and 1998. The researchers compared features of MVP and used medical and death records to collect information about what happened to the men and women over time.
- When the researchers examined the features of MVP on the echocardiograms, they found that, compared with men, women generally had different and usually less severe valve abnormalities.
- Among patients with no or mild mitral regurgitation, women lived longer than men did, but among men and women who had severe mitral regurgitation, survival was better for men than for women. They also found that, among people with severe mitral regurgitation, men were more likely than women to have surgery.
Given the above, I was most curious about survival rates for men and women following mitral valve surgery - including repair and replacement. Ultimately, this study found that men and women have similar survival rates following mitral valve treatment.
Pretty interesting, right? To leave a comment, click here.
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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December 7th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I had Mitral Valve repair 15 years ago. My left ventrical was enlarged at the time as the leakage had been bad for a long time. The surgery went fine and I’m in excellent health, exercising every day. Last year they said the valce was starting to leak again, but nothing to worry about too much. Now, for the last three week I’ve developed a aching pain in my heart all day long that comes and goes. It’s not excrutiating, but noticeable. I’m afraid to see a cardiologist because I’m afraid that my valve is failing and Ill need another surgery. Do you think this is anything I should be concerned about?