Advice on Mitral Valve Prolapse

[SajidHussan]

Dear Doctor,

I am 24 years of age (male). I experienced chest pain with shortness of
breath since my childhood. I lived a quite normal life with all the activities like participation in sports, social activities etc. Recently I had an Echocardiogram on the prescription of my Doctor ,which diagnosed Mitral valve prolapse (MVP). Following are the complete findings of the Echocardiogram:

AO Root 31
LVEDD   40
LVESD 19
IVS 06
PW 06
LA 29
EF 80 %
RV 14

INTERPRETATION:
Thickened and markedly prolapsing anterior leaflet of mitral valve.
Normal Aortic valve.
Normal sized LV with normal function.
No evidence of pericardial effusion.


C/W Doppler:
No systolic gradient noted across RVOT and LVOT.

CONCLUSION:
Mitral valave prolapse(marked) of anterior leaflet.

After the diagnosis I have changed my life pattern a lot and adopted following measures:

1. Stopping the intake of tea (I was a regular 2-4 cups a day drinker).
2. Doing light Yoga exercises.
3. Intaking minimum sugar made products.
4. Taking no stress whatsoever.
5. Good 6-7 hours night sleep.

After taking these measures my Chest pain is considerably diminished almost eliminated. I feel my self quite fit and normal. Can you please suggest what more I can do for improving my conditions or anything you want to suggest me as per my case. I also plan to visit a Cardiologist this month.

    

[CCF-M.D.-MJM]

Sajid,

The good news about your mitral valve prolapse is that you don't have a leaking mitral valve (mitral regurgitation).  You may develop it over time, but for now you are in good shape.

The steps you made to eliminate stress hint that stress may have been the cause of your chest pain and shortness of breath--none of the these measure would affect your mitral valve, but certainly would minimize stress.  Tea is a common offender for increasing anxiety and tension; sleep is also very effective at curbing anxiety.

Keep following up with your cardiolgist as he recommends to follow the MVP over time, but this is not a concern for now, given the above echo findings.  Note that Mitral valve prolapse with valvular regurgitation and/or thickened leaflets places you at moderate risk for bacterial endocarditis with dental procedures, so make sure you take antibiotics before dental procedures.  See link below for description of antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines.

http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/diseasemanagement/infectiousdisease/prophylaxis/prophylaxis.htm

I have to ask you cultural background, if you don't mind.  You have a very distict writing style that haven't encountered before.  It reads like you have a British educational background??

Good luck and thanks for posting.

[SajidHussan]

Thanks a lot doctor for your comments on my matter. As far as my educational and cultural background is concerned I am from Pakistan and recently completed my Bachelors in Electrical Engineering.