Redundant mitral valve with mild to mod regurgitation

[worrysomemom]

I had an echo that stated I had a "somewhat redundant mitral valve" with mild to moderate regurgitation and ejection fraction nearly 60%.  I am 32 years old and am wondering exactly what this means since my primary dr didn't go into details.  With this diagnosis should I be getting regular echos to see if this progresses into a more severe case of MVP?  I have only been dealing with this health issue for a year and a half and also wondering if I should work directly with a cardiologist instead of going through my primary dr. (he doesn't give many details)?  

Thanks

[kitcurious]

Your echo report was already read by a cardiologist and your own doctor gets his/her indications for what comes next based on that. Still, a cardiology consult is not a bad idea at all.

If you have mild to moderate MR you should have echos at certain intervals to check on the degree of regurgitation. How often that should be is something the doctors determine using guidelines for your particular circumstances.

[wildcat27]

I would "echo" Kitcurious (pun intended). Readings can be different and do have a subjective factor...I have been told that mild to moderate regurge with no structural defect to the MV is something that should still be monitored but maybe once ever 1-2 years.

[worrysomemom]

Thanks for all of your info.  I have been thinking the same things and feel like I should have another echo to stay on top of things.  My last echo was set up by my primary dr (who I am not happy with) and I was wondering if cardiologists will deal directly with me without having a referral from a primary dr.  My area has some great heart facilities and docs so do you think I can just call the heart facility to make an appointment?

[fearfactor]

I had an echo done and had almost the same result as you - slightly redundant mitral valve but no "frank prolapse" but I had trace mitral valve regurge.  The doctor told me I might want to have an echo every couple years or so to see if the regurge is progressing.  I'm thinking you might want to follow up every year since yours is mild to moderate.  I wouldn't worry about this, though. I had an echo at age 14 that said trace regurge and another at age 32 that said the same so it didn't progress at all in almost 20 years.