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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
How invasive is a mitral valve repair or replacement
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
How invasive is a mitral valve repair or replacement
by Linda__0__0, Oct 30, 1998 12:00AM
Dear Doctor,
I was recently diagnosed as having mitral valve prolapse. I have had symptoms of a heart attack but tests came back that I have mitral valve prolapse. What procedures are available and how invasive (do they break brestbone etc like what I've heard they've done in the old day of treatment) is the surgery? What is the recovery time, or can the repair be done with medication? Most of the info I have received only name procedures but they don't give specifics on how invasive they are. Can you give me details? I would greatly appreciate it.
Doctor's Answer
by CCF Cardio MD - MTR, Oct 30, 1998 12:00AM
Dear Linda, thank you for your question. I agree with everything the Valve Patient wrote in their response to your question. Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is, by itself, benign. However, MVP can be associated with mitral regurgitation (MR) which occurs when blood leaks the wrong way through the mitral valve back into the left atrium. MVP can be associated with palpitations and atypical chest pains, but usually requires no specific interventions. If MR is severe enough, mitral valve repair or replacement may be necessary. These procedures can be done via a minimally invasive approach which involves a 4-5 inch incision that leads to less post-operative pain and a shorter recuperation period. However, these procedures may not be necessary so you should check with your physician about whether you have MR with MVP.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
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.
