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Color Doppler echocardiography taken from a child with mitral valve prolapse
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Understanding Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome
To best understand Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome, it is necessary to review what a mitral valve prolapse is. Therefore, this overview of Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome will begin with a quick review of one form of disorder that can impact the mitral valve, the mitral valve prolapse.
Mitral Valve Prolapse - In a normal, mitral heart valve the flow of blood flows from the left atrium to the left ventricle. Upon closing, the leaflets of the valve prevents blood from going back into the left atrium. (To learn more about the anatomy of the heart and blood flow in the heart, click here)
When a patient suffers from mitral valve prolapse, the flaps (also known as leaflets) of the mitral valve do not close evenly.
One or more of the flaps can collapse backwards, sometimes allowing a small amount of blood to leak through the mitral valve, back into the heart.
Statistics suggest that a mitral valve prolapse defect is typically a genetic disorder and seems to affect women three times more than men.
There is usually no need to be concerned from a mitral valve prolapse. Although there is trivial, valve leakage due to the improper closure of the leaflets, the heart fuctions normally and does not degenerate over time. Diagnosis is usually confirmed by an echocardiogram, which provides an actual picture of the valve. Infection of the mitral valve, endocarditis, is extremely rare. However, people with mitral valve prolapse have a slightly greater risk of contracting it. For this reason, several physicians may suggest antibiotic prophylaxis for certain dental and surgical procedures.
MITRAL VALVE PROLAPSE SYNDROME What is mitral valve prolapse syndrome? Forty percent of patients with mitral valve prolapse also have an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system, or ANS, called dysautonomia. The autonomic nervous system is composed of two systems; the parasympathetic and the sympathetic. It controls virtually all bodily functions, such as respiration, heartbeat, blood pressure, vision, and digestion. When the autonomic nervouse system is out of balance it can cause myriad of symptoms, including panic attacks, anxiety, fatigue, palpitations, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and more. This combination of symptoms is know as Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome. Diagnosis is made by physical examination, a careful medical history, and an echocardiogram. Unfortunately, a mitral valve prolapse does not always show up on an echocardiogram. Thus, mitral valve prolapse syndrrome is a clinical diagnosis. Usually symptoms do not show up before the age of 14 or 15, but more and more children display central nervous system symptoms before the mitral valve prolapse is diagnosed. Ninety-eight percent of people with Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome have nothing wrong with their heart. The majority of symptoms are caused by an out-of-balance nervous system. Interesting Information About Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome:
- Common triggering events - childbirth, major viral illness, menopause, accident, surgery, college (leaving home and stress), death of a loved one, marriage, moving, divorce. Our nervous system doesn't differentiate between good or bad stress.
- People with Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome have a higher incidence of TMJ temporomandibular joint dysfunction), scoliosis, fibromyalgia, PMS, fibrocystic breast disorder, tinnitus, infertility, SAD (seasonal affective disorder), altitude sickness, seasickness, and endometriosis.
- Things to avoid: Humidity, extreme temperatures, saunas, lifting heavy weights.
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