PVC's & Mitral Valve Prolapse

[Michaelccc]

Someone please help. i'm 34 years old and i started having PVC's about 4 months ago. i had 3 holters, 2 stress tests, 2 echos, bloodwork and the only thing that came up is negative is PVC's on the holters. i was told echos, stress tests and blood were all normal. But like all of us here i decided to go yet another cardio to get another opinion on the PVC's and rule out Wolf Parkinson Syndrome. He ruled out Wolf Parkinson but listened to my heart with Stethscope and told me i may have MITRAL VALVE PROLAPSE. He asked me if i had the echo study with me to confirm it or uncomfirm it and i didnt have it. My question is if i do have mitral valve prolapse wouldnt it have showed up on the 2 echos that i had?? i'm so confused and scared now. Also if i do have MVP am i in danger now because i have PVC's?

[CrohnieToo]

MVP runs in my father's family. He was the youngest of 8 kids to die at 79 years of age.

I was Dx'd w/MVP about 1976 when I was 34 years old when at Mayo Clinic for another problem. It was discovered by stethoscope, mild enough no need for followup. The only time any doctor was able to find it via stethoscope was if I was laying down.

After a whiplash in 1994 I had left chest pain for 2 years or better so had several stress tests and the fancy nuclear stress tests, etc. NO ONE bothered to order the lowly, simple echocardiogram until 2006! The echo confirmed I do have MVP. The left chest pain has nothing to do w/my heart and everything to do w/for lack of an easier description an "unstable rib joint". Use my arms too much or above my shoulders and I get left chest pain. Exact same place each time.

[mymomscare895]

You seem very well knowledgeable of mvp,pvc's etc.  My mother who is 71yrs old has hx of doctors telling her that she has mvp.  Last year she started feeling sweaty, short of breath and feeling skipped beats.  I took her to a cardiologist and he put a holter monitor on her.  He reported that nothing showed on the holter monitor.  Then she quit having the perspiration, skipped beats and shortness of breath.  She has started having those episodes again, and she went to the ER.  We were able to see that she was having trigeminy, and then it stopped to just a normal sinus rhyththm.  Her symptoms also decreased.  The ER doc scheduled her to have an echo, and it showed ejection fraction 61% (yay) and it said MR and TR and PI.    Which I assumed mild regurgitation and tricuspid regurgitation?  My step dad just called me tonight and he has her in the ER in their hometown which is a couple of hours from me.  They were able to find unifocal pvc's.  But she gets very diaphoretic, short of breath, and fatigue.  From the posts on here it seems the unifocal pvc's are okay as long as she isn't doing thousands and having runs of vtach over the 24 hour period.  Unfortunately, we live in a smaller community and would have to be referred to a larger city for a cardiologist.  Mom's biggest fear is that she will just go into cardiac arrest and drop dead.  Her labs have shown only a slight increase in her potassium and everything else is normal including her cardiac enzymes.  I am not sure what step to take next to help her.  Otherwise she is fairly healthy and only takes med for HTN and an Inderal.

[paisydmom]

MVP is a congenital heart defect, which means you are born with it.  Symptoms typically develop after experiencing a traumatic event in your life. I experienced heart palpitations prior to being diagnosed with mvp, but it never bothered me until they started to come more often and seemed very strong. Hope this helps :)

[Momto3]

According to what I have read, you can be born with MVP or you can develop it later in life. It can run in families (genetic).  MVP can also be caused by childhood illnesses like rheumatic fever. Many times the cause is unknown.  In any case, your doctor would let you know if there were any concerns.  

[Michaelccc]

i feel like i started to have all this stuff show up after a stressful event as well. The death of my aunt. i started to get pvcs. i probably had pvcs before that i'm not sure but i guess i started to notice them. anyway. you mentioned that you got mvp after the death of your dad. i'm so confused about this. i was told that we are born with mvp. so which is it? are we born with it ? or do we get it after a traumatic event?

[paisydmom]

I was diagnosed with MVP 10/99 after losing my father. I read that a lot of symptoms show up after a traumatic or stressful event occurs in your life. I went through the constant PVC's, the many er visits, cardiologists, etc.  I was a lot like Michael, not believing what the drs were telling me. My pcp prescribed zoloft b/c I was a wreck, and my cardiologist prescribed inderal to help with the pvc's. By the way, my cardiologist told me that my mvp was so benign that I shouldn't even give it a second thought. I continued to get pvcs while taking the inderal but they weren't as frequent. So after about 6 years, I stopped taking it. I still get pvcs, especially if I lay on my left side for too long, and sometimes I just get them for no reason. I also have 2 extra heartbeats which I feel as well!! Now that my symptoms have a name, I pretty much just deal with it. I have gotten more positive feedback about the mvp as opposed to negative feedback. Hope this helps!!

[Amenity]

Hi,

I just posted a comment Rarely Do I get Irregular Heart Beats and maybe it might help you and others, I don't know, but it's worth a try.

It's all natural.

I took anti-candida supplements, like Caprylic Acid, Olive leaf extract, Oil of Oregano, Garlic and others and I rarely get an irregular heart beat.

Also, what can be tried is supplementing with Magnesium. I was told to take it by a man named Bill Sardi for my heart, but it didn't help, however my aweful migranes totally Went AWAY and I would get them after playing basketball and sports, which  was do to sweating out the magnesium. Also, woman have this problem during menstruation, sorry for spelling. Try it and God YHWH Bless. And if it helps SHARE and spread the word.

[Momto3]

Thanks for letting us know about the prespective dental professionals : )  
My cardios have mentioned that the premeds may not REALLY be necessary, but they feel more comfortable being precautionary.  I figure, for now, I'll take 'em and live with the grumpy tummy.  

Long story, but since my ablations for pvcs, I am able to handle anesthetics with epi.  But, when I was having tons of pvcs - NO WAY!

Hope it's a great day!
connie

[thelady]

i would have to say "yes , dentists are pretty aware"-----as a dental professional for 30 years here. they have gone back and forth on this for years.....probably was overkill most of the time. i feel it very important to tell you folks with the tia's, any kind of alterations with the heartbeat to tell your dentist to use NONADRENILIN anesthetic------it would't hurt if they did that on everyone as a safety precaution anyway! it is possible for someone to have had rheumatic fever and not even be aware.

[Momto3]

Yep, that's my plan.  I'll keep taking them until I get the go-ahead to stop : (

I hear ya on the upset tummy....UGH!!!!!  I had root canal therapy and a crown in the spring and I was on several rounds of antibiotics.  I wasn't sure my stomach was ever gonna forgive me.  Oh well, until I'm told otherwise, I'm sticking with the RX.  Yep, I wouldn't be surprised if your dentist wanted some kind of note from your cardio.  When I went for the root canal, the receptionist told me on the phone that if I didn't premedicate, they would NOT do the dental work.  I hadn't even ever been to this DDS before.  AND, the new guidelines were already out.  I wonder if most dentists are aware of the new guidelines???

My daughter was diagnosed with MVP and mild regurg. when she was about ten.  She was followed, periodically and about 4 years ago, an echo showed no MR and I don't even think the MVP.  She'll go this year to compare just to be sure, but the doctor said sometimes it can resolve on its own.  I think more in young people.  I forgot exactly what the doctor told me....Hmmmm.... I'll have to ask again about that, too : )  No big deal, just curious.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom's brother.  That's so sad.  I think rheumatic fever took its toll on many people before the connection to valve disease was discovered.  

Yes, my doctors have said that MVP is one of the most overdiagnosed "conditions."  I love the comparison to a birthmark....see it, watch it, treat it you need to....

I do think that some people have symptoms and MVP, but I don't know that there is a cause and effect.  Again, treat the symptoms, move on.

Thanks!!

Connie

[kitcurious]

If my doc thought I should continue I absolutely would. Your regurge is more significant than mine. My cardiologist says I don't need them any longer. They tend to make me sick to my tummy, so it was welcome news for me. I got a postcard from my dentist reminding me to premedicate, so may need a doctor's ntoe to get him to let me off that hook...  :-)

Your trusted doc knows your situation best, so always go with them.

I totally agree with you on the MVP. Of course it needs to be checked periodically, on the off chance it progresses, but that almost never happens and if it does they fix it.

I understand Michael's concern, because it's perfectly natural for you to think you have someTHING if a doc tells you that you have "such and such".
My mother's brother died of mitral regurge when he was young, but it was likely due to rheumatic fever and obviously very bad.
I hope Michael comes to understand that it rarely gets to be bad and he possibly doesn't even have anything.
Have you noticed that when people go to enough doctors some seem to eventually get told, that even though the echo doesn't see anything, they have MVP and the MVP is causing their symptoms?

IMHO -telling the average person with mild prolapse and trivial regurge that they have MVP is like telling them they have a birthmark on their arm. Keep an eye on that in case it changes is about all there is to it.

[Momto3]

I don't think the NY doctors are blowing you off.  They've done a bizillion tests and they have found your heart to be fine. You are looking for something that does not exist - you are fine.  Now, if you continue to go to more doctors, you will eventually find one who will tell you he/she has found "something" (like MVP).  That's just basic stats and probability.... This really is all about your anxiety.  

MVP is not medically significant.  It just is NOT!  Like I said, I've had it for years and years and years (yep, I'm a bit older than you...lol) and if I didn't have regurg, it wouldn't even be of concern.  Don't worry about it...you're driving yourself into a frenzy over nothing.

Hey Kit,

Back in April I read the new guidelines on AHA's site for prophylactic antibiotics and in May, I dourble-checked with my cardio about stopping the RX prior to dental treatments, etc.  She said, "There are some borderline situations where the antibiotics are no longer necessary, but in your case, you need to take them."  If I go strictly by the guidelines, it would seem that I don't really need them, BUT, I continue to take them since I'm a bit leery about stopping.  I have MR, sometimes seen as mod. severe and a hx of cardiomyopathy....Just wondering what you think?  I know you're not a doc, but I know you've read up a lot on this : )   I am scheduled for a cardio follow up this week and a stress echo in the Fall, so I will definitely ask again, but just curiouskit?  hahahah.  Thanks for any insight.

connie

[kitcurious]

MVP that does not have accompanying signifcant regugitation (which would absolutely be seen on an echo) is of no clinical significance whatsoever.  It doesn't matter if you have it or not. Even people with mild/moderate regurge should no longer take antibiotics before dental appinments because the antibiotics put them at more risk than the regurge does. AHA came out with this last April. Virtually nobody is recommended for even this tiny little precaution except thsoe with artifical valves or very sick hearts.

Also,  the means of confirming suspected MVP is echocradiorgram. They over diagnose it anything, they certainly would have seen any significant prolapse.

The overwhelming  majority of people with MVP have no symptoms and no anxiety about it.
There is no real proof of a connection between MVP and anxiety except the nature of people who are told they have it.


Doctors, logically, have little to offer healthy people but the good news.
If anything of any importance ( however small or unlikely ) comes back on a test, the docs are on the phone  to you, personally, lickety split.

Their job, when they do exams and tests, is to make notes and observations. Many observations are not really all that meaningful. The most meaningful one is the bottom line.  

Healthy is healthy.

[Michaelccc]

Well i don't know i guess it is bothering me because, Doctors tend to blow you off around here in new york. They see when we are frightened and just chalk it all up to anxiety . But i've done some reading and noticed that certain heart conditions can actually cause anxiety and panic. So i'm trying to find out if there is a physical condition for my mental state. Hope that makes sense . Either way i'm curious, You're saying if i did have MVP the doctors who ordered the Echo would have spotted it? even though they were not looking for it? I don't know who to believe anymore. tests come back fine and now this cardio listens to my heart with a stephoscope and tells me i may have MVP

[Momto3]

If you have MVP, it generally shows up on echo.  It is a very often overdiagnosed condition.  But, to put your mind at ease, I have known I have MVP for 30+ years and had (had two ablations) over 20,000 pvcs PER DAY for a LONG time and it was still benign.  

You've had more tests than most people and still don't believe the doctors.  What will it take to convince you that you are healthy and should move on with life?  Michael, as you can see, the anxiety over the pvcs is MUCH more debiliating than the pvcs themselves.  Have you thought about seeking help for the anxiety?  It may be just the thing you need to get on with your life.  You are young and worrying over something that the doctors have repeatedly told you is benign is counter- productive. Any idea WHY this is bothering you so much?  

Connie