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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Echo result question
Answered by
Cleveland Clinic - Heart
Cleveland - OH
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Echo result question
by GST, Jan 14, 2009 12:25PM
I am a very healthy, physically active 52 year-old-female. I had an echocardiogram a year ago because of some palpitations. At that time, it showed mild MVP with mild leakage. They recommended I repeat in a year, which I did. The MVP was unchanged, but now they said I had leakage from my aortic valve as well, which is a new finding. I am asymptomatic. I regularly engage in strenuous exercise. I recently had a fitness test done at my health club which showed I was above the 90th percentile in my VO2 max.
Question: should I be concerned that there's some type of degenerative process going on? Should I follow up with a cardiologist?
Question: should I be concerned that there's some type of degenerative process going on? Should I follow up with a cardiologist?
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, Jan 15, 2009 10:27PM
, Jan 15, 2009 10:27PM
It depends on how much leakage was present in the aortic valve, the size of the aortic annulus and the proposed mechanism for this process, This is not something that is usually taken care of by internists so you should be seen by a cardiologist who specializes in valvular heart disease. With your functional capacity this will almost certainly not be severe AI, but surgery can be indicated if other echocardiographic parameters show decreased contractile reserve.
