Mitral valve regurgitation â also called mitral regurgitation, mitral insufficiency or mitral incompetence â is a condition in which your heart's mitral valve doesn't close tightly, allowing blood to flow backward in your heart. If the mitral valve regurgitation is significant, blood can't move through your heart or to the rest of your body as efficiently, making you feel tired or out of breath.
Treatment of mitral valve regurgitation depends on how severe your condition is, whether it's getting worse and whether you have symptoms. For mild leakage, treatment is usually not necessary.
You may need heart surgery to repair or replace the valve for severe leakage or regurgitation. Left untreated, severe mitral valve regurgitation can cause heart failure or heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias). Even people without symptoms may need to be evaluated by a cardiologist and surgeon trained in mitral valve disease to determine whether early intervention may be beneficial.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Some people with mitral valve disease might not experience symptoms for many years. Signs and symptoms of mitral valve regurgitation, which depend on its severity and how quickly the condition develops, can include:
Mitral valve regurgitation is often mild and progresses slowly. You may have no symptoms for many years and be unaware that you have this condition, and it might not progress.
Your doctor might first suspect you have mitral valve regurgitation upon detecting a heart murmur. Sometimes, however, the problem develops quickly, and you may experience a sudden onset of severe signs and symptoms.
If your doctor hears a heart murmur when listening to your heart with a stethoscope, he or she may recommend that you visit a cardiologist and get an echocardiogram. If you develop symptoms that suggest mitral valve regurgitation or another problem with your heart, see your doctor right away. Sometimes the first indications are actually those of mitral valve regurgitation's complications, including heart failure, a condition in which your heart can't pump enough blood to meet your body's needs.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Your heart has four valves that keep blood flowing in the correct direction. These valves include the mitral valve, tricuspid valve, pulmonary valve and aortic valve. Each valve has flaps (leaflets or cusps) that open and close once during each heartbeat. Sometimes, the valves don't open or close properly, disrupting the blood flow through your heart to your body.
In mitral valve regurgitation, the valve between the upper left heart chamber (left atrium) and the lower left heart chamber (left ventricle) doesn't close tightly, causing blood to leak backward into the left atrium (regurgitation).
Mitral valve regurgitation can be caused by problems with the mitral valve, also called primary mitral valve regurgitation. Diseases of the left ventricle can lead to secondary or functional mitral valve regurgitation.
Possible causes of mitral valve regurgitation include:
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Your doctor will ask about your medical history and your family history of heart disease. Your doctor will also perform a physical exam that includes listening to your heart with a stethoscope. Mitral valve regurgitation usually produces a sound of blood leaking backward through the mitral valve (heart murmur).
Your doctor will then decide which tests are needed to make a diagnosis. For testing, you may be referred to a cardiologist.
Common tests to diagnose mitral valve regurgitation include:
Echocardiogram. This test is commonly used to diagnose mitral valve regurgitation. In this test, sound waves directed at your heart from a wandlike device (transducer) held on your chest produce video images of your heart in motion.
This test assesses the structure of your heart, the mitral valve and the blood flow through your heart. An echocardiogram helps your doctor get a close look at the mitral valve and how well it's working. Doctors also may use a 3-D echocardiogram.
Doctors may conduct another type of echocardiogram called a transesophageal echocardiogram. In this test, a small transducer attached to the end of a tube is inserted down your esophagus, which allows a closer look at the mitral valve than a regular echocardiogram does.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
When it's mild, mitral valve regurgitation usually does not cause any problems. However, severe mitral valve regurgitation can lead to complications, including:
Heart failure. Heart failure results when your heart can't pump enough blood to meet your body's needs. Severe mitral valve regurgitation places an extra strain on the heart because, with blood pumping backward, there is less blood going forward with each beat. The left ventricle gets bigger and, if untreated, weakens. This can cause heart failure.
Also, pressure builds in your lungs, leading to fluid accumulation, which strains the right side of the heart.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Your doctor may suggest you incorporate several heart-healthy lifestyle changes into your life, including:
If you're a woman with mitral valve regurgitation, it's important to talk to your doctor before you become pregnant. Pregnancy causes the heart to work harder. How a heart with mitral valve regurgitation tolerates this extra work depends on the degree of regurgitation and how well your heart pumps. Throughout your pregnancy and after delivery, your cardiologist and obstetrician should monitor you.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
If you have mitral valve regurgitation, here are some steps that may help you cope:
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Several factors can increase your risk of mitral valve regurgitation, including:
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
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