Question Title: aortic regurgitation

i have just been informed that i have aortic regurgitation. i am an 31 year old female and i know alot has been said about phen -fen causing heart and lung problems. i myself have not taken that but i have taken something called ephedrine and regular over the counter diet pills from time to time. can this be what has caused my problem and should i look into the possibility that i have lung problems too? thanks

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Dear Kelly,
Aortic regurgitation (AR)is certainly not normal, but at this point in time we as physicians do not really understand/know all the causes. Thus, I can not say that it was not the over the counter diet preparations you have been taking, however I also can not say that is likely was the pills. An echocardiogram can usually assess the pulmonary artery pressures as well as the status of the valves and chambers of the heart, so it is likely that whether or not you have any increased pulmonary artery pressures (called pulmonary hypertension-a known side effect of some diet preparations) is known from an echocardiogram that I assume you have had.

Since AR is not normal and could get worse, requiring surgical repair and or replacement, you will likely be followed with annual echocardiograms if not exams by a cardiologist, so at this point your next step is to ask the doctor:
1) How bad is the AR and how often should we follow up on this so long as I do not develop symptoms? and
2) Were my pulmonary artery pressures assessed on the echocardiogram and if so are they normal?

So basically you do not need a lung evaluation (it is the lung blood vessels that are attached to the heart that are effected by diet drugs, not the lungs themselves.)

I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for
general purposes only. Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.
Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck!

If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please
call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at
www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the
cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your
cardiac problem.

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